


Meet me at the library

by YouwillRuetheday



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Attempt to be realistic, College, College Life, Drama, F/M, Humor, Library, Light-hearted moments, Post-Abandoned Genocide, Post-Pacifist, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-17 14:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9328829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouwillRuetheday/pseuds/YouwillRuetheday
Summary: Monster integration into society has been challenging. Not all the humans are willing to let Monsters come to the surface, and many have been forced to dwell in the Underground still, allowed to be out in the day, but being unable to purchase or rent property on the surface.Due to the joint efforts of King Asgore and Governor Pear, the university local to the Underground has begun to accept Monster students in hopes that a cultural exchange program might ease the tensions between Monsters and humans. After all, young people have always been the most accepting of diversity.Sans finds himself having to attend the university along with Alphys in order to gain degrees and masters accepted by the human world. Meanwhile, a girl in her final year finds herself struggling with a mysterious illness. They find themselves in the same class, having to work together on homework, labs, and even a group project. How will this year go with the looming anti-Monster sentiment? More importantly, will Alphys ever join Anime Club?





	1. The start of a new Fall semester

     Dissonant noise is the last thing anyone wants to hear first thing in the morning. Unfortunately for the students of McAuley University, the first day of school was full of jeers, shouting, and the other sounds of protest. Around the central quad of the university, several groups of people stood waving signs which read, “You aren’t welcome here,” “God Hates Mobs,” and even, “Dust Them.” Of course, humans hadn’t known at first that Monsters turned to dust upon death. Experience gained from newly formed hate groups assisted them in that understanding.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

     There were even protesters in the parking lots around the school, which was extra troubling to even the human students. Yes, while not all the human students cared for Monsters joining them at the school, it proved more annoying to them that there were so many other people there making an already difficult day harder than necessary. Many had decided to be resolute in trying to have a normal day. Too bad hatred had another plan that day.                                                                                                          

     Soon, the reason for the disturbances arrived to the bus stop by the administrative offices of the schools. Creatures of different types, shapes, and shades unboarded the vehicle. Many of them had stony faces, as they had mentally prepared for the onslaught of name calling and negativity. Other, younger monsters, looked downward with downtrodden expressions. The last pair of Monsters to exit the bus were very short and an odd pair. One was a yellow dinosaur, wearing a nice blue dress with a cardigan. The other was a skeleton, who looked very uncomfortable in his slacks, dress shoes, and white button-up shirt.

     The skeleton was named Sans. In the Underground, he had a masters in physics and a doctorate in metaphysics. He also considered himself a comedian. The dinosaur was named Alphys, and she had once served as the Royal Scientist to King Asgore of the Monsters. She had multiple masters and doctorates in bioengineering, chemistry, and, a study unknown to humans, animalogy. The study of the soul. These accolades meant nothing in the human world, however. Humans, having their own standards and doubting those of the Monster colleges, laughed at the professionals amongst the Monster population. None of them could find jobs other than your regular minimum wage fare.

     “this is ridiculous,” Sans muttered under his breathe as he and Alphys walked together. Alphys pulled out a map to consult with as she checked it against her class schedule. As they were masters of different disciplines within the overall ‘Science’ name, they had decided to at least take one general requirement class together.

     “I agree,” Alphys subtly directed their movement toward the first class of the day. “Honestly, it is going to be a waste of time for us to redo our entire education. I hope the King is right. Maybe in a year or two, we can just test out of classes or they will finally accept our degrees.” She adjusted her glasses as they entered the science building. “I’m honestly surprised you are here, though, Sans. I thought you gave up on being a scientist a long time ago.”

     “well, i did.” Sans kept his hands in his pockets. It reminded him of his hoodie, and comforted him. “but the truth is, papyrus really wants to live on the surface. eventually, when the humans let us in, i will need a decent job to pay for everything.”

     “I see,” Alphys nodded. She was one of the few Monsters who understood that Sans had once been a very hardworking person. When she recalls the day he suddenly changed, she finds it hard to compute it in her mind. Like night and day it was, so she looked forward to seeing her friend return to his natural state.

 

     At the same time, a human girl managed to find an empty bathroom in the science building. Her first class was a general requirement class she saved for her last year to buffer how hard her main classes were going to be. She looked at herself in the mirror and splashed some water on her face. The long black curls along her face tussled with the movement. For a long while now, she didn’t quite feel like herself. She had seen her doctor, and even had a few tests done, but it didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with her.

     “Lyra,” he had said as he looked over her charts. “I think, perhaps, you are just stressed out.”

     “School hasn’t started yet. I didn’t feel like this when I was in school this last semester.” Lyra explained and pleaded with him. It was the Summer before the Monsters were to be accepted into the school. Lyra had a variety of symptoms that were iconic of suffering from stress. Headaches, bouts of insomnia, and a feeling of being completely overwhelmed. If that were all, however, Lyra would have just dealt with it. She was suffering other symptoms that made no sense to her. She felt she wasn’t inside her body from time to time. Her entire body would ache, and it felt like parts of her were going to burst out. As if the meat and bones within her skin wanted to pierce through and escape.

     The doctor waved away her fears and prescribed her pills for sleeping and pills for her intense headaches. He dismissed her other symptoms as just nausea. Lyra tried to accept his diagnosis, but it felt like the issue was condensing into episodes. Episodes like the one she suffered in the bathroom the first day of her last year.

     Lyra swiped the beads of sweat away from her brow, and she felt herself come down from edge. After a moment, she tried her best to appear dry and marched to her first class.

 

     Astronomy 101 was what some students might call a ‘gimme class.’ The professors who lectured the course were all easy going guys in their own way, and they did the best they could for their students. The attached lab portion was once a week, and painfully easy to complete. It was here that Lyra, Alphys, and Sans found themselves for those reasons, though the Monsters had one more reason to join the course. An easy class could be a lifesaver to an otherwise disastrous semester. The room for the class was inside of the school’s planetarium. It was a large, circular room with very comfortable seats that tilted slightly upward and could tilt further if one pushed. Alphys and Sans were not the only monsters in the class, which was a relief to them. Thankfully, none of the humans seemed to say anything about their presence. Of course, all the monsters were being sized up. Many, if not all, of the humans hadn’t seen a Monster in person before.

     “Class,” an old man walked into the room. He looked like your stereotypical scientist, complete with a big lab coat, bushy white beard, and eye glasses. A unique feature to this scientist was a brown walking cane. “My name is Dr. Phillips. I ask that you do make sure to call me Dr. You will understand why if you ever reach that point someday!” Alphys made a face at Sans about that comment. “Welcome to Astronomy 101! We will be exploring specifically the Solar System. If you join us for 100, we cover the universe.”

     Sans smirked and whispered to Alphys, “wow, they must have all the answers to be able to fit that topic into one semester.”

     “Excuse me, sonny,” Dr. Phillips pointed his cane right at Sans. “I may be old, but I’m not deaf. I would appreciate it if you kept your comments after class.”

     “sorry,” Sans sputtered. It was going to be a long semester.

     “Now then, this is a great segway into something I want to talk about. The elephant in the room,” Dr. Phillips paced at the front of the class. “Or, as it were, the skeleton in the room.” The old man winked at Sans. Sans felt his humiliation dissolve into appreciation. “We got Monsters here in class, and at the school. I am not a political man, but I will not tolerate any disturbances relating to either being a Monster or complaining about Monsters.” Dr. Phillips stroked his beard and faced the class. “Is this clear?”

     No one said anything.

     “I said, is this clear?” He repeated, but in a sterner voice.

     “Yes,” “Yeah,” and “Sure,” were the replies he got this time around

     “Great. Now, let’s get to work.” He smiled.

 

     After a lecture of about 40 minutes, Dr. Phillips wrapped up his lesson on the abridged history of astronomy. As people started to pack, Dr. Phillips held up a hand.

     “Wait, class, there is a matter to discuss.” Everyone stopped. “At the end of the year, as you may notice on the syllabus I sent you online, there will be group presentations on different topics inside the field of astronomy. You are welcome to pick a topic, run it by me, then work on it with your group.”

     “Do we pick our own group?” A human asked.

     “No,” The old man stroked his beard, mischievously. “I’ve taken the opportunity to randomize your groups. Given the number of students, we will have pairs for this semester. I’m going to call out your names, and you will raise your hand. Each two names will yield a single group. Please look around for your partner.”

     Dr. Phillips began to list names, and it became clear very quickly that he had paired one human and one Monster per group. Monsters and humans alike felt nervous, upset, and even angry.

     “Alphys and Kyle,” Alphys and a human male raised their hands and exchanged looks of dread.

     “Lyra and Sans,” They raised their hands and gave each other a long look. Lyra’s face was a bit clammy still from her previous episode, so Sans’ returned expression was a soft disappointment.

     Once the professor finished listing names. He smiled as Monsters and humans crowded him and asked to be reassigned. Alphys approached Sans.

     “M-maybe he will let us partner since we know each other,” she suggested.

     “fat chance, look at his face,” Sans pointed. Alphys saw that the previous was waving away all concerns and replying sternly to some.

     “Ugh,” Alphys and Sans packed their things and walked out into the hallway.

 

     “Hey, wait!” A small voice shouted from behind them. They both turned to see Lyra, the human who had been paired with Sans. “Uh, so, Mr.?”

     “its just sans,” Sans shrugged.

     “Sans, right,” Lyra smiled nervously. “I’m Lyra.”

     “i know,” Sans looked away as he remembered the look on her face. “i saw you raise your hand.”

     “Right,” Lyra sighed, she worried about the expression he gave her, “right. Well, I wanted to talk to you before you go off to your next class. I wanted to ask when we could meet up to talk about our project.”

     “well, i’m going to take my friend here to her next class, then i’m going to find a nice place to take a nap.”

     Both Alphys and Lyra stared at Sans.

     “What do you mean?” Alphys gawked. “Take a nap? Really? When is your next class?”

     “wednesday.” Sans closed his eyes with a shrug.

     “Wednesday,” Lyra repeated.

     “You do know it's Monday, right?” Alphys groaned. “Please tell me you are in more than just one class.”

     “i’m in more than one class,” Sans grinned wider.

     “Are you really?” Alphys eyed him suspiciously.

     “nope.”

     “So, you are free then?” Lyra waved away thoughts of how lazy this little skeleton seemed.

     “sure.”

     “Could you meet me at the library?"


	2. Group projects aren't fun

     The first portion of the day went fairly normally, aside from a few incidents. The sophomores and over were used to screaming protests on campus, after all, free speech was a protected right. The school used public funding to help pay the bills and salaries, so these groups had a right to be on property. There were protests long before Monsters showed up. Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, Gun Rights, Gun Control, and just about any other hot button issue you can think of. The most exciting incident of the day occurred when a doglike Monster was approached by a couple of giggling girls who asked to pet his head.

     University officials looked up at the dog’s towering head, wondering how they would get his neck to shrink. Only students by the art building noticed, though a few students on the other side of the campus thought a large dog was perhaps trapped on a roof. 

 

     So far, the day was peaceful. Especially in comparison to First Contact, or Second Contact depending on if you ask humans or Monsters respectively. First Contact was the first day Monsters made themselves known to the humans. It didn’t go well. Some humans fled at the sight of the Monsters. Others tried to attack them. The Monsters were forced to use their awesome power to keep the humans at bay until the human child, Frisk, was able to intervene. The Monsters had named Frisk their ambassador, which was strange. 

     In any case, there certainly weren't punches or magic being thrown around on this day.

     Lyra stood in the atrium just outside the actual academic library. In the atrium was a small coffee shop, which made it a fairly cozy place to meet up with group mates. It was a key destination for all McAuley students to know. Lyra and Sans exchanged information before they parted ways. She asked Sans to meet her at noon in this very room, yet it was already noon thirty. She pulled out her phone and stared at Sans’ contact info recorded in the device. 

     “sorry,” Lyra almost jumped out of her skin when Sans’ voice called from behind her. She turned. “i was catching a pretty awesome wink.”

     “That’s fine,” Lyra kept in her fury of being somewhat stood up. “I was starting to think of getting a coffee.”

     “sounds great, let’s do it.”

     The pair got into line and moved forward awkwardly as people ordered. Lyra was the kind of person who had a hard time coming up with small talk, while Sans was the kind of person who didn’t necessarily have to care to make conversation. He was comfortable in silence. After they ordered and got their drinks, they found a small table in a cramped corner. So far, the atrium was a mix of Monsters and humans. There was gawking both ways, so Lyra wanted to try to keep Sans out of view for his sake. If Sans noticed her consideration he didn’t mention it.

     “so, we need a topic about astronomy for a group presentation,” Sans tried to recount his memory. “is that right?”

     “It’s even more than that,” Lyra sighed. While Sans was napping, she had found the time to check the syllabus e-mail on her phone. She brought her phone to the page and handed it to Sans. He took it and read over the section she left open.

     “what.” Sans’ face went blank. “not only do we work together on this presentation, that we have to sign up for a date for… we also have to have a whole typed up paper due by finals week?”

     “Keep reading,” Lyra sipped her coffee and closed her eyes. Bracing herself for his comments.

     “what!” He slid the page down as he kept reading more. “we have to be paired up for every lab this semester? we have to grade each other on teamwork and what work we brought to the table?”

     “Some kind of gen ed this is,” Lyra sighed as she cupped her coffee.

     “i read online that this professor was great.”

     “Me too,” Lyra sympathized. “I guess he is a great person, but they didn’t mean he was great as in super easy. Either that or the whole Monster thing has him changing things up.”

     “hey buddy, don’t blame this on us,” Sans complained. “not my fault your human teachers like to make bogus requests for gen ed.”

     “Anyway,” Lyra changed the subject. They had already gotten off to the wrong foot it seemed, and she didn’t want to drag out the meeting with an argument. “Let’s talk topics.”

     “honestly,” Sans held up a skeletal hand. “i am going to defer the topic to you.”

     “Really?” Lyra frowned. She had a sense he was lazy, especially given how he was only in one class for the semester. She was really hoping he wasn’t the kind of partner that piles work on others.

     “yeah,” Sans nodded and chugged his tea. “really, you should take the lead on this one, pal.”

     In many group project situations, these are the kind of things most people do not want to hear. Lyra was one of them. Lyra, having no experience leading a project, less alone working with a Monster, was not interested in having to delegate tasks to a skeleton of dubious work ethic. She pondered for a moment what kind of topic she could chose. 

     “We could do a presentation on an important figure in astronomy, I think that would count,” Lyra held up a hand, “there’s Galileo, Copernicus, Hubble-”

     “no,” Sans stopped her. “i would prefer if we stuck to something like a celestial body or maybe an astronomical concept.”

     Lyra’s face flushed at the nerve of the little Monster. With that, she also felt one of her episodes coming on. 

     “Mr. Sans,” Lyra started.

     “just sans, thanks,” Sans corrected her as he noticed her demeanor change. 

     “Sans,” she repeated curtly. “I have a place to be right now. We can talk about this more another time.”

     “why did we even bother to meet now?” Sans spoke in a heightened voice. “this was the waste of a good nap period.”

     “Maybe if you weren’t late, we would have settled on a topic,” Lyra almost shouted. She shot up as she felt the pain start to take over her mind, pushing her toward the edge. If she didn’t extricate herself soon, she couldn’t be held responsible for the things she was about to say. “I’m leaving. I will text you later.”

     “fine,” Sans shrugged at her as she hurried off.

 

     “Wow, she yelled at you?” Alphys questioned. “I didn’t think of her as the tsundere type.”

     “yeah,” Sans leaned in his bus seat so low he was practically sliding onto the floor. “all the humans stared at me afterwards. it was really awkward.”

     “Sans,” Alphys looked down at her estranged friend. A friend that she only recently was able to reconnect with after all those years. “F-Forgive me for saying this, but, it's strange for you to worry about things like awkwardness.”

     The truth was there was no point to caring before Second Contact. Sans couldn’t recall, exactly, the shifting timelines, but he knew of them. Alphys knew of them too. The main difference between the two Monsters was that Sans felt them. He didn’t need to remember them, what happened exactly, or why they were happening. Sans just sensed that they were happening. He couldn’t explain why or how, but if it wasn’t for him talking with Alphys about it, she never would have been able to detect it. Of course, they kept it a secret from the King and all the other Monsters. No need to panic the public.

     The problem was it truly made Sans realize that he had no control over his life. Perhaps in another lifetime they figured out how to create artificial souls. Perhaps in another lifetime they cured cancer. It wouldn’t matter in the end, because some _ thing _ out there was resetting the world over and over again. So even without memory, Sans felt incredibly old. He had some small glimpses, and he was sure Papyrus did too, but it didn’t matter. Sans had become a nihilist, gave up his work, and decided he would spend every waking moment doing whatever he wanted.

     Trouble is, when you are depressed, you kind of don’t want to do anything at all.

     He found comfort in telling jokes, annoying his brother, and secretly trying to work in his hidden lab when he felt the odd inspiration. In the end, his experiments and equations yielded nothing.

     After Frisk somehow managed to save everyone in the Underground, Sans initially greeted the sun cautiously. How could he know what would happen next? Was he just having a vision and would soon awaken again in his bed down in the snow? But the days kept coming, and Sans realized he was holding Papyrus back. Papyrus, the only person who could make Sans really smile, deserved better. Didn’t he? Sans decided to fake it until he makes it. He has to for his brother’s sake.

     And with that, Sans found a reason to care about life again.

 

     Back at home in Snowdin, Sans settled in for the night on the couch in the living room. Alphys and he had to take several busses to get back to Mt. Ebott, then they went their separate ways. Sans could take shortcuts down in the Underground, but the magical quality of the surface world was something he wasn’t used to yet. He wouldn’t be able to just take shortcuts whenever he wanted just yet. 

     Things in the kitchen actually smelled quite nice. It's amazing what access to quality ingredients could get you. There wasn’t much vegetation down in the Underground that could grow under natural conditions. While food cooked with magic tasted great, Papyrus didn’t quite have that level of control over his magic. He had to resort to conventional means like many other low magic creatures. Sans could probably have started to pick up slack, but cooking always seemed to make Papyrus feel a sense of purpose.

     “BROTHER,” Papyrus chimed from the kitchen. “DINNER IS READY.” The taller skeleton marched out of the kitchen with a large bowl of pasta salad. 

     “smells great, bro.” Sans pulled out the TV trays they salvaged from the dump years prior.

     “NOW SANS,” Papyrus served Sans a plate of his cooking. “I AM EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT HOW YOUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL WENT. DID YOU GET TO SIT IN THE SEAT BY THE WINDOW IN THE BACK? I HEARD THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS TALK ABOUT IT AT THE LAST HANGOUT.”

     Sans chuckled. “no, paps.”

     “PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME PAPS,” Papyrus waved his hand at his brother. “MY NAME IS PAPYRUS.”

     “well, bro,” Sans started to eat his brother’s cooking. It was fantastic. “i went to astronomy class today. it's about the stars and the solar system.”

     “NEATO!” Papyrus exclaimed after he swallowed a bite. “WHAT’S A SOLAR SYSTEM?”

     “well, it's where the sun, moon, and other planets are. including our planet earth.”

     “WOWIE, I HOPE ONE DAY I GET TO MEET THE OTHER PLANETS.”

     “that is in our reach. if you’re up for it, i can take the old telescope to the surface with you and we can look at the planets out tonight.”

 

     Meanwhile, Lyra was in her small home in the town McAuley University was at. After she ran from Sans, she ran to a bathroom and took her painkillers. She had to hold herself together to get through her last couple of classes for the day. Thankfully, it was only the first day, so there wasn’t too much to have to pay attention to. Essentially, if she just read the syllabus she’d get the same information as attending the classes. 

     Lyra only had classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and so she could look forward to only working on Tuesday. Lyra worked in the academic library as a reference assistant, and she worked that job almost every evening. As most of the humans and Monsters went home for the day, Lyra stayed to work at the school. She didn’t suffer another episode, thank goodness, and she spent her time drafting her text to Sans.

 

Lyra: Sans, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’ve been getting these headaches that make my skull want to split open. I hope you will accept my apology, and maybe we can try to start over. We have a long semester ahead of us, so let’s make the best of it. 

 

     She stared at her text. After several moments of overthinking, she edited it down and sent it.

 

Lyra: I’m sorry for snapping at you. I wasn’t having that great of a day. We have a long semester ahead of us, so let’s make the best of it.

 

     She didn’t receive a reply until the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fun side project I want to work on. I've been feeling a little down, so I hope writing some fanfiction will make everything better!


	3. k.

     Somewhat early the next day, depending on if you were an early bird or a late owl, Lyra woke up in her small room inside her small home. The home had a history to it, and despite being small, once belonged to a rich man. A rich man that Lyra missed dearly. She rubbed her eyes of sand, and looked over to see that her phone had a message on it.

     Lyra stared at it.

     Instead of reading the message, which she suspected was from Sans, she showered, dressed, and ate. As one of those cable cutters who was destroying America, Lyra watched YouTube content on her Recently Updated feed while she browsed Facebook. Facebook, for those who don’t know, is where people get their news in a condensed version as opposed to watching the news or even reading an online newspaper. From a newsfeed within Facebook, which only showed users adds and things friends were posting, one can generally get a sense for what concerns people had about the world.

     Amongst Lyra’s friends at the school, from her hometown, and from the various ‘real adults’ she knew in her life, she could tell that a single day of Monsters attending the McAuley University didn’t undo the last couple years of anxiety surrounding the Monsters. She saw various posts like:

 

“You won’t believe what this flaming Monster set on fire!” Complete with out of focus thumbnail picture and what looked like an Ifrit from Final Fantasy.

 

“10 Reasons You Should Give Monsters a Chance!”

 

“Monsters steal human souls. This is what powers them! Don’t let the Monsters get you alone or they will absorb your immortal soul. Like and share to spread the message!”

 

“Why do Monsters turn to dust? Hear it from a Monster’s own mouth!”

 

“This heartwarming video will brighten you day.” With an autoplaying video that involves a human giving free hugs to a Monster on the side of the street.

 

“Biggest illegal immigration crisis in decades! Real bad, tweets US President.”

 

“Monster’s head soars into the clouds! Emergency workers at a loss on how to rescue it without approaching the creature. Every time a hand comes near it, its head gets closer and closer to outer space!”

 

     Lyra closed her tiny, green laptop with a sigh. She noticed her college friends were posting the more positive or neutral information about the Monsters, so perhaps they had better experiences so far than she did.

 

     Elsewhere, Alphys had gotten off the bus at McAuley and made the trek to her first class that day. The class was more hardcore than the general education courses she stuffed her Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule with. The class was only offered on Tuesday and Thursday, but Alphys shook her head. Unlike Sans, she would at least attempt to take human school seriously. She may even learn something new. Humans had the surface for the past forever to themselves. Surely, they had developed massively different theories or had even advanced past the Monsters that were trapped in what was essentially an XXXXXL cave.

     Alphys was wrong.

 

     After class, which let out earlier than expected and still too early for the bus ride back home, Alphys wandered the science building. The science building had actual exhibits in each corner of the main floor, as well as lining some of the halls. One could find an ant farm containing an ant species that ate a special formula developed by the graduate and above level students, for example. Alphys took in the marvels and figured that even if she was somewhat ahead of the chemistry course, at least she could spend her time in such a beautiful building.

    That’s when it caught her eye.

     A garishly pink flier stood out on the announcements board placed in the students common area of the science building. The students common was a place for students to sit and wait for classes, to work on homework, or to simply post fliers on the board. Alphys approached the board to read the flier as she recognized what looked like Japanese characters. The flier read:

McAuley Anime Club

(Picture of cast from an incredibly moe show)

Do you love anime? We do too! Join us in the Williams building, room 112!

We meet once a month, the last Friday of every month.

Bring your favorite shows and we will vote on what to watch together!

No bootlegs allowed.

 

     When Alphys left the building and went home, the flier was nowhere to be seen.

 

     At the small house, Lyra dressed in business casual attire. A cute, black and white floral pattern dress with a blue shawl and dainty, shiny black flats. In her position at the library, Lyra didn’t need to walk around as much as other people did, so she enjoyed working cuter things on days she didn’t have regular classes. As she made sure she had her wallet and keys in her purse, she realized she was so scared to read Sans’ response to her text that she hadn’t even checked her phone all day.

     Gulping, she turned the screen on and saw, very clearly in the lock screen notification drop down, Sans’ short reply.

 

Sans: k.

 

     Lyra felt several different emotions in the span of 3 seconds. First, was anger, followed by sadness, tailed by anxiety, and finished by a hatred for people who respond with ‘k.’ in any given situation. He had even bothered to punctuate that ‘k.’ which made it worse somehow. 

     Texting etiquette is full of faux pas, unspoken rules, and deep analysis on what different phrases or emoticons mean. One such unspoken rule is that the reply, ‘k’ to any serious question or discussion implies that the one who texted ‘k’ is dismissing everything or finds any mentioned concerns to be insignificant. The added step of adding a period to punctuate the ‘k,’ could be deeply analyzed by many texters worldwide. A leading expert in the field would classify it as, “Wow, what a douche. He’ll punctuate his sentence, but he won’t bother to give you a real response? Deal breaker!”

     Lyra was running her own analysis in her mind. Perhaps he was being a huge jerk, and dismissing the olive branch she was extending to him. Or maybe Monsters didn’t have any of the same texting etiquette as the humans? That would make sense, she supposed. They developed their technology in separate environments. It wasn’t until the recent few months that human cells and Monsters cells could even text each other as Monsters somehow didn’t need satellites or cell towers to send and receive messages. It was all done using the magical ether they claimed.

     At work, Lyra found herself distracted with these thoughts. This couldn’t be an indication of how her semester was going to go, could it? There was no way Sans was being rude. It must just be the disconnect between how humans and Monsters communicate. Instead of working on her homework, Lyra drafted many different kind of replies to Sans’ ‘k.’ She couldn’t send a single one, and almost got in trouble with her boss since cell phones weren’t supposed to be used on the desk. She would just have to see Sans tomorrow. Surely, he wasn’t trying to be an asshole, right?

 

     Sans was actually just being an asshole. After a fun evening of stargazing with his brother, Sans noticed a message on his phone. He remembered that the human he had been paired with met with him just long enough to shout at him and run away. Unlike Lyra, who could almost be paralyzed by texting with total strangers, Sans flipped his phone open to read the text once he had tucked Papyrus into bed. Sans still used flip phones, and as long as his worked, he wasn’t ever going to part with it.

     He read Lyra’s message with a frown. It felt like a half apology, and now it pissed him off even more. She shouldn’t take out a bad day on him. Didn’t she realize the situation was already bad enough for Monsters at the school? Even if she didn’t want to work with him on the group project, or at least that is what he believed she was like given the sour expression she had on her face when they were announced partners in class, she didn’t need to make things harder for everyone involved.

      Sans felt grumpy and petty all of a sudden. He sent a short reply.

 

     “k.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a fun time writing this story, so I hope you have a fun time reading it! I enjoy reading comments, so leave any if you are interested.


	4. just think of it like an rpg game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to have gone a long while without posting. Had family visiting from out of town!
> 
> Previously: Lesser Dog's head soared into the Heavens, Alphys found out about Anime Club, and Sans is a huge jerk to Lyra. 
> 
> This chapter: Some angst, some anime, some mysteries

     Darkened skies threatened to rain onto the creatures departing the bus, 100X. 100X, the given name of the route and bus that drove all the monsters, came to be known as “Devil’s Duty,” amongst bus drivers. When it was first announced in early summer, there was an outrage amongst bus drivers, particularly the older, god-fearing kind. Arguments about how Monsters aren’t people. Arguments about how it would be the same as condoning their very existence. The executive, however, didn’t care. King Asgore, the kind fellow running the circus, offered the executive money. A lot of money. With the commotion his employees were throwing, he knew that none of them would willingly take the route and, if forced, might start striking.

     How annoying.

     Instead, the executive had human resources post the job online as an exotic and fun new venture. Drive a bus full of Monsters! Meet new ‘people.’ Quotes were used in the online posting for sure. That is how 100X ended up with Jay.

     Jay drove the 100X for the entirety of his scheduled shifts, only stopping for lunch at noon in the college town that engulfed McAuley University. He ate the same thing everyday, a chicken sandwich, he walked the same way to and from his bus everyday, and even nodded a hello to the same people everyday. Jay was made of clockwork, which is the most reliable thing to be made of. Jay made sure, however, to keep his eyes on the surrounding. To notice subtle movements and anticipate attack.

     The first day of school, some people in the angry mobs outside the bus managed to identify him. They sent him death threats, thrown rocks and rubbish at him, and other cruel and unnecessary things. Jay shrugged these attacks off. Driving Monsters was a modest living, and he enjoyed to overhear their conversations.

     The Monsters weren’t really the stuff of nightmares as far as Jay was concerned. While he recoiled at the sight of a few, for example seeing a human skeleton unnerved him, he found them to be like ordinary people.

     So until something crazy happens, Jay would continue to take his bus driver’s pay.

 

     Alphys and Sans walked side by side followed by a much taller Monster. Her long crimson hair flowed in contrast to her deep azure skin. Yellow eyes and teeth pierced into the minds of the Anti-Monster humans that had caught a glimpse. She smiled a wicked grin at the protesters, who for a moment, stopped chanting their vitriol.

     “Un-Undyne,” Alphys lagged behind Sans to take hold of the blue Monster’s hand. “You don’t need to look so intimidating.”

     “Alphys,” Undyne looked around the crowd of angry humans. “I am always going to be here to protect you.” Alphys blushed at this and felt just like one of her favorite anime characters when they were protected by their masked lovers. “Especially since these humans look so dumb!!!”

     “Huh?” Alphys stopped moving as Undyne suddenly posed, pointing at a group of humans holding a banner which read: Monsters are witchcraft, find out in the bible (URL)

     “These humans are so ridiculous! What, they are going to protest every single day? We escaped the prison THESE humans put us in! Now they are pissed off that we get to come to a human school? They are lucky ASGORE took back his declaration of war!!!” The human mobs actually shut up and listened to her. “IF IT WAS UP TO ME, I’D FIGHT YOU ALL RIGHT NOW.”

     Sans shook his head as Alphys sighed, and started to drag Undyne by the hand with them toward their first class. Undyne had gotten uneasy at home since losing her position as Captain of the Royal Guard. As an unemployed person who enjoys fighting, Undyne watched the news on TV and screamed at the coverage. Humans threatening Monsters, humans protesting their existence, humans finding out that Monsters, when they die, turn into dust… How could they? How could they already kill?

     Undyne knew better. She understood that Frisk, having never killed at all, was likely the exception to the nature of humans as a whole. They were a hateful race that burned their own witches at the stake. How could she expect anything different from them. She had hoped, Undyne realized, that most humans were like Frisk.

 

     Inside Astronomy 101, Lyra sat slumped over her desk. She agonized over Sans’ lack of a full reply, tried to write responses to his ‘k.’, and ended up losing sleep wondering how she could have better controlled herself even with the headaches. Lyra didn’t want to come to class, but knew this was her only chance to talk to Sans face to face and see if he hated her guts or not.

     As this was the second day of class, seating was still up for grabs, and so Alphys and Sans sat adjacent to Lyra once Alphys spotted her. Alphys gave Undyne a quick hug, as Undyne waited outside the classroom with a manga. Class started and Lyra looked up to see Alphys giving her a nervous smile, while Sans seemed to be trying to look anywhere but in Lyra’s direction. The knife twisted in her brain, as she felt a migraine come on.

     After the lecture, Sans got up and started to head out the door, but Alphys grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before he could get out.

     “alph,” Sans warned, “don’t.”

     “Oh, sure,” Alphys let go once Lyra caught up. “I just noticed how quickly you were leaving. It was uncharacteristic of you.”

     Undyne laughed at the exchange happening before her eyes as she jumped up from her seated position in the hallway. She hadn’t known Sans for a very long time, but he seemed like such a moody person compared to his brother. Sans was the only person whose reaction to leaving the Underground could be summed up to a, “that’s nice.”

     “fine,” Sans sighed and looked over to Lyra. “let’s talk, bud.”

     “Sure,” Lyra nodded, resisting every fiber that wanted to say ‘k.’

     She realized she would have to miss out on her next class, but decided it would be for the best. Lyra sighed. Being late or absent was her biggest peeve. Alphys and Undyne headed toward Alphys’ next class, chattering away about the manga Undyne held.

     Sans begun to walk and Lyra followed. She sensed they weren’t heading anywhere in particular since he spent a few moments looking around at the science projects on display in the hallways of the science building.

     “so,” Sans begun. “i’m sorry for being curt with you.”

     “So you were being curt,” Lyra felt, for a moment, that a weight lifted from her shoulder. Only, unlike the usual relief one feels, she realized that meant Sans had meant to be rude and felt like someone had dropped a much heavier weight onto her.

     “well,” Sans shrugged. “to be fair, you were really rude to me the other day.”

     “I know, and I’m sorry,” Lyra frowned, “I tried to apologize-”

     “and your apology sucked,” Sans waved her sorries away, “but go on.”

     “Look,” Lyra stopped walking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to invite you out to just waste your time. I’ve been having headaches so bad that I go to the bathroom and practically pass out.”

     Sans paused and turned to look at her head-on.

     “I’m in my final year, so I am sure I am just stressed out,” Lyra continued, “I just don’t know what to do. My doctor seems to think its anxiety, but I am just not so sure. I’ve had anxiety attacks in the past, and this isn’t my usual cup of tea.”

     Sans sensed something familiar about this situation. Her look of desperation as she talked about her stress. He wasn’t sure and couldn’t remember the words, but he felt a sensation from some time before at some point he just couldn’t recall. It felt like a time he had looked into someone's soul, but whose? For a moment, he focused and judged Lyra, the same as when he judged Frisk so long ago.

     Lyra was a decent person. He could tell she was a diligent person, someone who has never willingly hurt another person physically. Hurting people via breaking up with them didn’t count as harm in his opinion, so all in all she was a good person. Why, then, did he get the sensation like he was dealing with a bad person. A person whose soul was corrupt? He had a feeling of being at his limit, of breaking apart, and of failing. How could Lyra remind him of something like that?

     The human girl looked up from the ground at Sans’ face. The pinpricks that worked as his pupils were gone. In their place, only a deep dark pit. Despite his lazy smile, Sans looked tense. He looked scary. She reached out a hand and said, “Sans, are you alright?”

     He reacted faster than he could think. Sans pulled Lyra’s soul out and launched an assault of bones. Caught off guard, Lyra panicked, her soul fluttering all around, confused. Her soul took damage, nearly depleting the number of hits she could take before Sans snapped out of it and used his magic to pull his bones away from dealing a final blow.

     There in front of him, he saw it. Her soul floated before him in the darkened area around them. It’s color was almost hard to tell in the dark of the battlefield, a grape color. That was not why Sans’ face was a mix of exhaustion and confusion. Sans’ waved away the battlefield, approached Lyra, with her soul still out as she sat on the ground confused, and whispered angrily, “are you a monster, kid? why does your soul look like that? why are you pretending to be one of them?”

     Lyra, scared, looked up to where Sans pointed. She saw a purple heart floating.

     It was upside down.

 

     Alphys and Undyne agreed that Undyne could accompany Alphys to school and walk her to classes for as long as protesters hung around the school. Undyne felt it unsafe and unwise for the two short, dorky, and weak friends of hers to come to school without some kind of protection. Plus, Undyne kind of felt like the cool guy in anime that always protects his girl.

     Alphys went into a 2 hour long class, and Undyne decided to walk around campus. She wanted to know the layout, see potential danger zones, and also look at the stupid faces of the human protesters. Undyne rounded a corner between two buildings she quickly identified as a trouble area. The buildings were the art building and the library. There weren’t many people around and the area was obscure enough that it was hard to see from any other area. As she followed, the path became narrow and lead down a short stairway. It seemed to round the library until Undyne heard voices. She stopped and peeked around with her eye. The end of the path lead to a set of large double doors leading into the library building. It seemed this was a break area, given the scent of smokes in the air. She saw Lesser Dog and two humans. One female and the other male. They argued.

     “You don’t understand,” The female shouted. “I love him!”

     “What the heck do you mean!?” The male cried, speckles of spit catching onto his beard. “He’s a Monster! He’s literally a dog Monster!”

     “You don’t get it,” she cried, “and you never will. I’ve never been interested in you! I don’t even like hanging out with you.”

     “You bitches,” he pulled out a knife from his coat pocket. “You bitches and your friend zones… I’ll show you!”

     Undyne summoned her spear and leapt out from where she stood. As she went, she realized that when humans on the surface do vigilante justice, they wear costumes. She focused her magic to change her outfit. It was a perk of water magic she never really got a chance to use in the underground. She gave herself an outfit that closely resembled a fancy fencer’s outfit she’d seen once in an anime, white with red motifs. A red masque covered her eyes and upper face.

     Once she landed, she posed, pointing her spear at the male human. “Leave this woman alone!”

     The male shrinked backwards with the spear pointed at his face. He could see now that it was almost electrified and it sizzled off parts of his beard. He screamed and opened the door behind him, disappearing inside. Undyne relaxed. Lesser Dog gave her a sidelong glance. The human girl’s expression was indiscernible.

     “Well, that was easy!” Undyne exclaimed and dropped the facade of her epic costume. “I’ve always wanted to do a vigilante justice! It’s just hard to do so when you are the Captain of the Royal Guard.”

     “You’re perfect,” the girl whispered suddenly.

     “Huh?” Undyne walked over to hear the girl more clearly.

     “YOU ARE PERFECT,” she threw her hands up and hugged Undyne. “YOUR COSTUME LOOKED JUST LIKE OMNI-SAMA!”

     “Haha, yeah, I guess it did,” Undyne tried to pry the hugging girl off of her. “I like that character well enough, so why not go for his look when you rescue someone, right?”

     “YOU SHOULD BE MY FRIEND,” the girl snuggled her face to Undyne’s body, dangerously close to her breast. “LET’S GET SOME COFFEE SOMETIME, HUH?”

     “Uhhhh, no,” Undyne finally pried the girl off of her. Undyne jumped up and stood on the wall. “I’ll take a pass on that. See you around!” Undyne specifically waved at Lesser Dog. She jumped again and disappeared.

     “Wow, so tsundere,” The girl blushed as a great many thoughts flooded her mind. Lesser Dog approached the girl with its arms open. She waved him away. “No, Lesser Dog! Its over between us! Can’t you see I’m in love?”

     Lesser Dog howled in despair.

 

     Sans took and teleported Lyra to the quiet place in the art building. It took a lot out of him, but he didn’t want people to see Lyra unconscious and get the wrong idea. Or in this case the exact right idea. Sans had actually attacked someone. He usually never threw the first punch or bothered fighting back. He had enough energy to dodge if it came down to it. So what prompted this response? He couldn’t remember. In any case, it wasn’t like he attacked a human. It wasn’t a monster either. What was she?

     Lyra stirred next to him and sat up slowly. Her head pounding.

     “my turn to apologize,” Sans started. “sorry.”

     “What happened…” Lyra started, “Why… did you attack me?”

     “yeah,” Sans looked down and away from her. Sans didn’t know what to say. Should he tell her that her soul doesn’t look human? She looks like a normal human girl. Whatever she was, she didn’t mean Monsters any harm based on his judgment. Although, that could have changed with his attack. “so sorry.”

     “Are you serious, Sans,” Lyra stood up and nearly hit her head. “Where the heck are we?”

     “under the big set of stairs in the art building,” Sans shrugged. “this is where I napped the other day.”

     “Really? Here?” Lyra looked around. There were art projects lining the walls of the building, music of all kinds echoed down from all the hallways leading to the room they were in. “Kind of loud place to nap.”

     “eh,” Sans stood from his sitting position. “sleeping comes so naturally to me,” Sans paused for a moment, thoughtfully. He continued. “i could do it with my eyes closed.”

     “Wow,” Lyra deadpanned. “A punner and a slugger.”

     “hey,” Sans turned to face her. “i said i’m sorry.”

     “Dude, you hit me so hard I passed out.” Lyra gestured a hand to her head and mocked a faint. “The whole room went black!”

     “well, that part was from a fight starting,” Sans gained an explanatory tone in his voice. “when you fight Monsters, you get pulled into this black space most of the time. uh, and usually humans take their turns first. or so it usually goes.”

     “‘Take turns’? You make this sound like an RPG.”

     “it kind of is,” Sans nodded. “just think of it like an rpg game.”

     “Saying ‘rpg game’ is redundant,” Lyra sighed. “Anyway… I guess I remember you had this awful look on your face. Did I do something to scare you?”

     “maybe,” Sans scratched the back of his head. “tibia honest, i overreacted.”

     “Did you just say ‘tibia’?” Lyra’s frown deepened. “Like the bone? Like another pun?”

     "yep.”

     “Okay,” Lyra looked down at the small skeleton guy. Behind his grin, she could see he was struggling with something. Maybe something happened to him in the past with humans, and he did overreact. She shrugged. “Okay, I forgive you. If you forgive me for being a bitch.”

     “deal,” Sans nodded. “altho, i don’t think you were being a bitch.”

     “Thanks.” Lyra nodded. “We should talk more about our project together.”

 

     Deep inside Mt. Ebott, a human child helped their adoptive mother bake cookies. They kneaded the dough together, the former Queen instructing her pupil in the art of sweet treats. The human child, being a child, had patches of flour all over them. The ex-Queen had laughed at her child. They were truly quite a pair.

     “Frisk, you should really wash up, you are getting flour everywhere,” The mother mused. “Go on, I will handle the rest.”

     Frisk nodded, and carefully walked to the bathroom in their small home. Their heart felt warm with love. Frisk couldn’t talk about why they had come to Mt. Ebott in the first place, or why they had gone to live with Toriel without a second thought after the barrier fell. The Monsters didn’t ask, and Frisk would probably never share their story. But out there, somewhere, people knew why.

     They opened the door to the dark bathroom. It was small and quaint just like their home. The floor resembled a marble chess board, its sink, bathtub, and toilet almost resembling pieces of the game. Frisk moved to stand in front of the mirror above the sink as they switched the light on. They let out a small gasp when they saw what was reflected in the mirror.

     Dust. So much dust. Dust in their hair, on their clothes… covering their hands. Their eyes gleamed red in the reflection, and they could remember a few sad words.

_Do you think even the worst person can change?_

     Flashes of memory reflected in Frisk’s red eyes. Dust covered floors in cavernous places, snowy places, damp places, and fiery places. It wasn’t just self-defense. Frisk had tracked down as many Monsters as they could. No one was safe. Frisk just had to know what happened at LOVE 20.

     Somehow, Frisk had forgotten all about Sans. Sans was always in the background. He was good for a laugh. Sure, he seemed to have strange shortcuts, but otherwise, he wasn’t special. Yet, it was Sans that caused them to die the most. Bones, blue magic, laser beams, and space-bending abilities… The last time Frisk had fought Sans, it wasn’t about hitting LOVE 20 anymore. Frisk had to settle the score.

     Finally, after so many attempts, so much struggle, and listening to the skeleton rattle on again and again about some mysterious entity, Frisk had defeated him. Out of nowhere, they were able to slash twice, something Sans was not anticipating. He had the dumbest look on his face as he meekly walked out of view. Frisk was ready. It would be time to kill the King, finally, after having been delayed so long. They wouldn't be trapped in darkness. This had to be the true ending. Frisk's expression darkened with these thoughts… then, Sans said something so sad, it pulled Frisk out.

_Papyrus, do you want anything?_

     Frisk fell down to their knees. What had they been doing this whole time? They maimed and killed everyone who ever cared about them. The only people who ever cared about them. Just to escape.

_Do you think even the worst person can change?_

_That everyone can be a good person, if they just try?_


	5. You really shouldn't skip school

     Lyra and Sans made their way to the library around noon. From the napping zone Sans discovered, the walk to the library was fairly short, and in fact they could enjoy the artwork and environment of the art building for most of the walk to the library. The buildings were neighbors. At this point, Lyra had no chance to make it to her 11 AM class, and the idea that she had skipped it entirely weighted on her soul. Thinking of her soul, Lyra could not recall most of the fight Sans forced her into. While she was willing to let bygones be bygones, Lyra couldn’t remember much of it since the attack did hurt enough to cause Lyra to pass out.

     She looked down at her skeletal companion, casually strolling beside her. His focus was on the watercolor paintings decorating the hallway they were in. Each piece was abstract and in a similar style. Lyra imagined these were all done by the same student. The art made the hallway look otherworldly. While the art was abstract, Lyra felt the artist was trying to depict the wonder of space. Each painting a heavenly nebula or galaxy of crazy colors, heavy in blues, purples, reds, and blacks. Sans seemed deep in thought, and Lyra could sense a look of admiration in him as he past each painting. His cheeks, if you could call them cheeks, were bluish in hue.

     Had this person really attacked her out of the blue as he did?

     “this is pretty awesome,” Sans broke the silence between them. He noticed her looking at him. Instinctively, he tried to place his hands into his blue hoodie, which he forgot he couldn’t wear at school. Toriel had told him to look his best for school, and Sans usually took her advice very seriously. Instead, he placed his boney hands into his pant pockets.

     “Oh, yeah,” Lyra looked away from Sans and back to the paintings all around them. “It looks a lot like outer space. Kind of a fun coincidence.”

     “i was thinking the same thing,” He nodded. Winking, he added, “i’d tell you a joke about space, but it’s too out of this world.” 

     Lyra gave Sans a short laugh.

     “wow, tough crowd.”

     “To be fair,” Lyra stopped walking, “Puns and one liners aren’t my thing.”

     “really?” Sans kept walking for a moment, then turned back to see Lyra head-on. “they are the highest form of comedy. i guess you just lack a funny bone.”

     “Har har,” Lyra and Sans continued walking toward their destination.

 

     Inside the library building, the pair found their way back to the corner they sat at the previous day after ordering drinks and snacks for lunch. The bustle of the atrium around them ensured that their more quiet conversation could be held. Lyra and Sans spoke a great deal about their potential topics for a project. Lyra gave suggestions that were closer to history projects, while Sans proposed ideas that were far above the AST 101 pay grade.

     “Look, I get what you are saying,” Lyra rested her aching head on her hand. “I think it would be really cool to come up with experiments and come up with theories from them like real scientists or whatever… I just think if we do something like that, you will end up doing all the work. I don’t even understand half of what you are saying.”

     “you humans really are so underdeveloped.” Sans mused as he rested his skull on the table. After eating hot food and drinking warm liquid, Sans usually enjoyed a good nap. 

     “Dude, I’m only 21 years old. Sorry I don’t have a degree in brain surgery.”

     “apology accepted.” Sans closed his eye sockets. “well, you are like the same age as my bro. i guess i can cut you some slack.”

     “You have a brother? Is he…” Lyra suddenly wasn’t sure how Monsters worked. They all look so different from each other. Were they born? Made? Could they be born from the same parents and look like completely different creatures?

     “he’s a bonehead, for sure,” Sans joked. “but yeah, he is a skeleton if that is what you’re trying to ask.”

     “Sorry,” Lyra apologized solemnly. “I don’t really know the social etiquette for talking with Monsters. I wasn’t even sure at first that calling… uh, you all Monsters was a nice thing. It seems negative to me, I guess, based on how we’ve been using the word Monster these past several years.”

     “eh,” Sans shrugged. His voice became a whisper as he sighed, “no big deal. i’ve been having such a ghoul time since coming up to see the surface. do you know why skeletons are so calm?”

     “Why?” Lyra amused him.

     “because nothing gets under our skin. heh... classic.”

     “Your jokes are silly.”

     “yeah... but,” Sans yawned. His speech slowed and slurred somewhat. “a great pun is its own reword.”

     “Wow,” Lyra smirked at him. “I will admit. That pun was a good one.”

     Lyra received no response. She saw his body moving up and down subtly, breathing. Soon, she heard quiet snores coming from the skeleton. Lyra gently shook him and said his name, trying to awaken the skeleton. It didn’t work. He was dead to the world. Lyra checked her phone for the time. It was almost time for her next class. If she didn’t leave soon, she wouldn’t make it on time. 

     So she shook Sans more. Eventually, it could have looked violent to onlookers. He still didn’t awaken. Lyra brought her face close to Sans mouth, listening for sounds of breathing. People with sleep apnea often snore, and snoring was a sign that you had a breathing problem. Of course, Sans wasn’t a normal person for the purposes of those sorts of facts, but she didn’t have a lot to go on. He seemed to be breathing normally, despite his snoring. 

     Lyra took a deep breath and decided she was just going to end up skipping yet another class. It would be okay, it was still the first week, there is no reason to panic. At least that is what Lyra told herself to keep from panicking. After about 20 minutes, with no signs of awakening, Lyra felt desperate. She sat close to the skeleton, practically leaning on him. Some of the students in the atrium noticed how close she and Sans were sitting and began to avert their eyes to what seemed like a public display of affection. It wasn’t unusual for humans to snuggle their friends or lovers in public during this time of their life. Some of the Monsters in the atrium, however, began to gossip with each other about the situation.

     Lyra leaned in close and discreetly fumbled her hand into Sans’ pant pocket closest to her. She blushed deeply as she did the act, but she needed to find his phone. Lyra hit pay dirt and fished out his phone. It was a small flip phone of all things. Lyra flipped it open and used the directional pad to look up Sans’ contact list. It had 0 entries. She gawked and looked down at him. Did he have no friends? Lyra moved the cursor over to his call list and found several repeated calls to the same number. She took a deep breath and pressed the call button on the number. It rang for half a second before the line went live.

 

     “BROTHER, IS THAT YOU? YOU ARE LATE FOR OUR AFTERNOON CALL. WE AGREED VERY SPECIFICALLY-” The voice was loud, boisterous, and yet charming. Lyra felt a force of charisma behind the voice, which she guessed to be Sans’ brother.

     “Hi, this isn’t Sans.” Lyra started and tried to force every awkward feeling in her body down into the pit of her stomach. “This is Lyra, one of Sans’... classmates.”

     “OH, HELLO. I’M PAPYRUS, SANS’ AMAZING BROTHER.”

     “Nice to meet you,” Lyra nodded to Papyrus, although he could see it. “Well, I am calling, because your brother… he passed out.”

     “WHAT? AGAIN?”

     “Oh, he does this?”

     “SOMETIMES HE JUST FALLS ASLEEP OUT OF NOWHERE. I SWEAR, ONE OF THESE DAYS IT'S GOING TO GET HIM HURT.”

     “Do you think you could come pick him up?”

     “WELL, HUMAN… I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, BUT I AM UNABLE TO DO THAT. I WAS TOLD BY THE QUEEN HERSELF NOT TO COME TO THE SURFACE WITHOUT HER OR MY BROTHER, SO… I AM NOT ABLE TO FULFILL YOUR REQUEST.”

     Papyrus was the same age as Lyra, yet he sounded almost like a child in his admittance. Lyra sighed. “Well, how long is he usually out for?”

     “OH, HE WILL SLEEP THE ENTIRE DAY AWAY.” Papyrus complained to her. “IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE PAIN IN MY NECK FOR SANS TO PASS OUT AS HE SOMETIMES DOES. I MEAN, HE IS SUCH A LAZY BONES. HUMAN, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD BRING MY BROTHER TO ME?”

     “Ahh,” Lyra felt caught. She was on the phone with Sans’ brother. His little brother by the sounds of it. Maybe skeletons matured differently, so being 21 really just meant he was still a child. If so, how old was Sans? Either way, she felt cornered. “Isn’t the way to the Underground pretty far? I don’t even know how to get there.”

     “IT’S SIMPLE. EVEN MY BROTHER COULD DO IT,” Papyrus assured her. “YOU JUST NEED TO GET ON THE 100X. IT'S THE NEW BUS ROUTE THAT ONLY TRAVELS FROM YOUR UNIVERSITY TO THE UNDERGROUND AND VICE VERSA. I CAN COME MEET YOU AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE UNDERGROUND. I THINK THAT IS WITHIN MY LIMITATIONS SUCH AS THEY ARE.”

     “Well,” Lyra dropped her head in defeat. “Sure, I will bring your brother to you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

     “GREAT! THANK YOU SO MUCH, HUMAN. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN PERSON.”

     With a click, the line went dead.

 

     Lyra had struggled to lift Sans, and felt awkward thinking about holding him like a human baby or a puppy. She, instead, pulled him over her shoulders. His skull rested against her neck, which momentarily gave her shivers. Lyra shook it off and started to walk to the bus stop at the school. As she made her way, the crowd of protesters booed her. They called her vile names and accused her of having sex with the small skeleton. She frowned at them as they did. Lyra wasn’t even sure how that would even be possible, though, she had to admit he felt a lot softer than he looked. In fact, it felt like she was carrying a small human being on her back, not a skeleton. He had weight to him, he had a chest and waist that pressed against her back. It was very surprising given that he looked like a crafted skeleton.

     Inside the bus, Lyra paid the bus fare, groaning. She would barely have enough cash to make the trip back to campus. Probably just in time to make her 5 PM shift at the library. She sighed. The bus driver eyed her as she deposited her money and made her way toward the back of his bus. Jay didn’t think any humans would ever board his bus. He wondered what the girl was doing, and why she had an unconscious, small skeleton. He shrugged as a few Monsters boarded his bus after her.

     Lyra placed Sans on a window seat and took her place next to him. Despite her placement of him against the bus window, a large bump came in the middle of the ride which shifted Sans from the window to Lyra. He was small enough that his head rested against her upper arm. She felt him wrap an arm around her arm. Lyra watched him as he did this. Sans was still asleep, so he wasn’t trying to play a joke or make her uncomfortable. Papyrus had said he’d be gone to the world.

     For a moment, Lyra thought Sans looked very cute in his peaceful state. Her first impression of him was of an angry skeleton grump, but it seemed like he was trying to be nice to her now. He even told her a few, bad jokes. That counts for something, right? Lost in thought, she wondered about how Monsters would continue to integrate into society. It has come up rarely, but some humans and Monsters were dating already. At least, Lyra had heard about it. She hasn’t seen anything with her own eyes yet, but there were rumors. Once enough time has passed, she figured these strange couples would try to marry. Could they marry? Could they have children? Lyra blushed suddenly and snapped out of her thoughts as she realized she had been giving Sans a loving look, mostly from admitting he looked cute sleeping, while some of the Monsters on the bus stared at her. She turned her gaze to the window as they started to drive into the mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to give more focus on Lyra and Sans this chapter. Hope you enjoy!


	6. Piggyback Cute

     Bus 100X traveled through the newly paved roads up Mt. Ebott. The scenic drive showcased the beauty of nature as riders saw the various flora and fauna that could be sighted from their seats. A Monster on the bus even pointed at her window exclaiming ‘Deer! Deer!’ Many Monsters looked and held an intense discussion on how cute the deer was. Lyra had ridden buses before, and she never saw grown adults throw so much as a second glance to the local wildlife.

     Then she remembered that the Monsters here had only seen the surface world for the past 3 years. The Monsters had deer-like Monsters, in fact she had spotted him at the public library near her home. Yet, it seemed that despite the number of animal-like Monsters, of which there were many, they were unaccustomed to seeing your regular fare of just animals. Lyra pondered what the flora and fauna was like in the Underground.

 

     The bus came to a complete stop. Lyra looked up and gasped. She hadn’t seen the entrance to the Underground, but it looked mystical and fantastic. They were at roughly the middle area of the mountain, which was not where the Monsters originally saw the surface the first time. At this point in the mountain, there was a large cave opening. Large enough that tens of Monsters and humans were able to fit and it was possible for them to come and go as they pleased. The entrance had four distinct gates. These gates were ornate and shining. They looked to be adorned in amethysts and garnets. The gates seemed to be momentarily flashing orange, but maintained a strange blue hue around them. One of the four gates had a long line of humans, two seemed empty, and the last had Monsters going inside.

     Lyra pulled Sans onto her back and made her way off the bus, giving the driver a polite, “Thank you,” as she stepped off the bus. She noticed the Monsters from the bus linger behind somewhat, waiting for her to safely step off the bus, then once she did, they slowly walked toward what seemed like the Monster entrance. It seemed that they were too shy to talk to her, but wanted to help her to the right place. Lyra followed and stood behind the line of Monsters. The gate’s hue turned orange and stayed orange as the Monsters filed in, being waved on by a giant dog in armor. He looked so buff that Lyra was caught off guard when it was her turn to come through the gate.

     The gate turned blue, and the dog pointed her toward the line with humans. Lyra turned somewhat and pointed at Sans’ sleeping form. The dog started to pant and looked around itself. This ‘conversation’ was very strange to Lyra. Before she could open her mouth, she heard a familiar voice shout out.

     “IT IS MY HUMAN FRIEND!” Papyrus laid a red gloved hand onto the dog’s shoulder. “GREATER DOG, I HAVE INVITED THIS HUMAN, A SPECIAL FRIEND OF MY BROTHER, TO THE UNDERGROUND. I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT SIGNING THE APPROPRIATE PAPERWORK FOR HER ENTRY…” Papyrus shifted his glance around, then pulled a bone seemingly out of nowhere. Was it from his own body? “I HOPE WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING, MY FRIEND?”

     Greater Dog, as he was called, sniffed the air tentatively before snatching and hiding the bone in his armor faster than Lyra’s eyes could follow. The gate turned orange and the dog ushered Lyra through. “QUICKLY, IF YOU WALK TOO SLOW IT WILL BURN YOU.” Lyra hopped through the gate. As she did, it felt like she had passed through… something. Like when you swim through water underwater… but obviously not as wet.

     “Hel-” Lyra began before she was interrupted.

     “YES, HELLO, HUMAN, MY DEAR FRIEND WHOM I KNOW VERY WELL,” Papyrus squinted his eyes again and appeared to be looking around. “WE SHOULD DEFINITELY WALK BACK AND AWAY FROM THE GATES. WOULDN’T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO MEET YOU BEFORE I DO.”

     Lyra got the hint and followed Papyrus away from the gates. Lyra wondered if the skeleton was some sort of knight, given that he looked very heroic and also had some armor on. Inside the Underground, Lyra looked up and saw it was a rock ceiling. She felt somewhat claustrophobic, but tried to shake it off. There were many gift shops lined along the cavern walls, plus a few food places. One was named ‘Spider Bakery.’ She wondered if it was run by spiders… or perhaps made of spiders? As they made their way through, the crowds of humans lessened and lessened. Instead of touristy shops and attractions, they walked through a regular looking neighborhood. Lyra noticed that everything around her was very purple as they progressed. The rock, walls, and ceiling were all purplish in color.

     “THANK YOU, HUMAN,” Papyrus spoke up once he felt they could speak without being eavesdropped on. “MY BROTHER IS SUCH A HEAVY NAPPER. OH!” Papyrus stopped walking and turned to face Lyra. “I’M SORRY, HUMAN. COULD I CARRY MY BROTHER FOR YOU NOW?”

     “It’s fine.” Lyra smiled at him. “He is not really that heavy.” She didn’t add that it was oddly comfortable to carry him around like a small child. “By the way, you can call me Lyra! That is my name.”

     “LYRA, WHAT A WONDERFUL NAME,” Papyrus continued walking. “TRULY A GREAT NAME. SO, LYRA, I HEARD YOU ARE DOTING ON MY BROTHER-”

     “What? Doting?”

     “YES, DOTING. YOU FANCY HIM, I HEARD,” Papyrus dramatically threw an arm over his eyes. “OH, I KNEW A DAY WOULD COME WHEN SOMEONE WOULD TAKE HIM FROM ME. WHO WILL ANNOY ME WITHOUT END IF HE IS GONE?”

     “Uh, I don’t know who told you something like that,” Lyra frowned. “But we aren’t… we aren’t together. I barely know this guy. We are just in the same class.”

     “REALLY? I HEARD THAT YOU RUBBED YOUR BODY AGAINST HIM EARLIER AT THE SCHOOL.” Papyrus drilled. “I HEARD THAT YOU GAVE HIM A LOVING LOOK ON THE BUS RIDE. EVEN NOW, YOU HOLD MY BROTHER UP IN THAT HUMAN FASHION. I’VE READ YOUR HISTORY BOOKS, YOU KNOW.”

     “What? ‘In that human fashion?’ I have no idea what you are talking about…”

     “YOU KNOW. IN YOUR BOOKS, IT SHOWS WHEN ONE HUMAN LIKES ANOTHER HUMAN, THEY HOLD THEM UP ON THEIR BACKS AND CARRY THEM. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SMALLER HUMAN IS TIRED. SANS MAY NOT BE HUMAN, I SUPPOSE, BUT HE IS SMALLER THAN YOU.”

     Lyra suddenly realized Papyrus was referring to shoujo manga and other romantic tropes. She didn’t know how to explain to him that those aren’t history books, but just manga. She sighed. Either way, altogether those actions could come off like one lover caring for another. “I promise you, Papyrus, it isn’t like that at all. You get to keep your brother.”

     “I WILL TRUST YOU, LYRA,” Papyrus lead Lyra through a fiery pit of doom, or so that is what Hotland seemed like to her. “I WAS ALSO SORT OF HOPING SOMEONE ELSE WOULD TAKE CARE OF HIM. HE’S A HUGE MESS.”

 

     Papyrus led Lyra through a crystalline part of the cavern that would have been pitch black if it were not for the glowing crystals all around giving a distinct blue hue. There were blue flowers everywhere that seemed to whisper sweet nothings into the air. Lyra trailed behind Papyrus closely as they passed through small streams and followed odd paths. This area in particular was beautiful, and Lyra hoped to have more time in the future to take it all in.

     Rather abruptly, the cavern opened up wide to a snowy landscape. As they walked, Lyra began to shudder from the cold. Finally, Papyrus stopped in front of the first house before the rest of a town sprawled out. Papyrus gave her a big smile.

     “WELCOME TO MY HOUSE, LYRA,” Papyrus gave a grandiose gesture toward his home. “THIS IS MY SPECTACULAR DWELLING, DESPITE SANS’ BETTER EFFORTS TO GUNK IT UP.”

     “It looks lovely,” Lyra followed Papyrus through the front door. She noted upon entry that the house was sparsely decorated. The floors were mauve and blue alternating lines. By the door, a table lined the wall with a rock on a plate placed atop it. Lyra spotted the cough to her left and walked over. She sat and released her grip on Sans. Lyra realized after a moment she had been holding his butt for probably 30 or 35 minutes altogether that day. She gave a chuckle to herself as she realized she hasn’t had contact with anyone lately. School had engulfed her whole life, leaving her temporarily friendless other than some co-workers and her adviser. She was still friends with people on Facebook, but she rarely got to see them anymore. 

     “LYRA, COULD I OFFER YOU A SNACK?” Papyrus broke Lyra out of thought.

     “Oh! No, thank you,” Lyra waved her hands at Papyrus. “I should actually get going… I have to be at work by 5 PM.”

     “OH, LET ME WALK YOU BACK OUT,” Papyrus walked upstairs, “GIVE ME A MOMENT.” Papyrus walked into what seemed to be his room and reemerged. In his hand, he held what looked like a green sweater. “I NOTICED YOU LOOKED CHILLY. YOU WILL NEED THIS IF WE ARE TO TAKE THE SHORTCUT.”

     “Thank you,” Lyra didn’t argue. She pulled the sweater over her head and noticed the front had a white bone on the front.

     “NOW, FOLLOW ME.”


	7. #teampapyrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans fell into a deep sleep, so Lyra took him home at the behest of Papyrus. In this chapter, we learn more about the Underground in its current state and the denizens who live there.

     Elsewhere in the Underground, past the snowy town, laid the ruins of the first major city. Home, its original name, was native to some lesser Monsters. Their magic was not as mighty as Monsters who made their home elsewhere, but they could not imagine living elsewhere. The Ex-Queen, Toriel, used to live in the ruins in the original royal home, but with the opening of the surface, she moved to be closer to the entrance. Many Monsters made this move, and so the ruins were mostly empty aside from the occasional Froggit or Whimsun. 

     At the very end of the ruins, there were magnificent, yellow flower beds. A beam of light from the world above poured in and bathed the yellow flowers in a radiant, warm glow. At the center of this light, a special flower faced upward toward the light. It was not like the other fine specimens. This flower was alive.

     The yellow flower shifted his roots as it felt a presence. Three souls fluttered about and landed onto their own lowers. One green, one light blue, and one purple. Their energies dissipated into their chosen flowers, the flowers changed to correspond with the color of the souls.

     "Young prince,” The green flower spoke as its face formed. It addressed the central flower. “I regret to say, we haven’t been able to find the others.” 

     “‘Young prince?’” It mocked him, “I’m not a prince. Not anymore. Please, just call me Flowey.”

     “Flowey,” The light blue flower chimed up, “We looked high and low, and there isn’t a trace. We took our time, but we have no idea where they have gone.”

     “Yeah…” The purple flower squinted its eyes in the others’ direction. “We checked usual places, but no sign of them. I even found a few secret places, out of reach, and they weren’t there either.”

     “Ugh,” Flowey clenched his teeth. “I can’t believe this. Where could they have gone? How could they have just disappeared like that.” His face seemed to break apart slowly and his voice began to echo, “They know that this… condition of mine isn’t stable. They should be here HELPING ME.” Flowey shouted. At his cry, the three souls vacated their flowers and entered Flowey’s body. For a moment, Flowey seemed to thrash, before calming down. His facial features softened. He looked like a cherub. 

     “Young prince,” The green voice sounded, “Please, don’t worry. We are here for you.”

     “Thank you, Halima,” Flowey whispered. Tears welled up in his eyes. He had snapped at his friends again. It was happening more and more all the time whenever he didn’t have their souls inside of himself. 

     “I’m sorry, Dillan,” Flowey addressed the light blue soul. 

     “I’m sorry, Zoe.” Flowey addressed the purple soul.

     “Flowey,” Dillan interrupted. “You don’t have to apologize. We understand.”

     “The magic from the epic incident is more rapidly fading these days,” Zoe pondered aloud. “Do you think it has to do with the others disappearance?”

     “That’s a possibility,” Halima agreed. “Flowey could go days without one of us inside, now it takes at least two of us to keep him… ‘sane.’”

     "Guys,” Flowey pouted. “I’m right here, you know.”

     “Sorry,” “Woops,” Hamila and Zoe said.

     “Either way,” Dillan interrupted again, “We should observe the situation. One of us should go out and see what there is to see, while the other two stay behind to keep Flowey company. If you take a second to notice, there is a shift in magic in the air. Can’t you sense it?”

     The other two souls held their energies still within Flowey, which stiffened his stem. They tried to sense magic, but they just couldn’t feel it like he could. Dillan and one other soul had always seemed in tune with magic. The other soul had even claimed to be able to cast a spell or two in life. Tried as they might, Halima and Zoe couldn’t sense a thing. Dillan noticed this and sighed.

     “The magic in the air feels polluted. There is something going on, and it's been happening all this time.” Dillan explained. “Since the event 3 years ago, something has been percolating in the Underground. Don’t you sense it, Flowey?”

     “...” Flowey wasn’t sure how to answer. 

     After Frisk saved everyone from the God of Hyperdeath, Flowey, then Prince Asriel, managed to destroy the barrier as he had control over all 6 human souls and the soul of every Monster in the Underground. It was enough magic and power to destroy the powerful runes and spells which kept Monsterkind bound in the darkness. Yet, after that event, Flowey knew he had to appeal to someone Frisk didn’t know about. 

     Chara.

     They seemed to listen to his plea. His plea to leave Frisk alone. His plea to let everyone have their happy ending. Chara was silent, then faded away. Asriel wasn’t happy with the lack of reply, but assumed Chara understood. Now, as Flowey, he had uneasy feelings when he thought back to the ‘game.’ The ‘game’ he enjoyed playing so much before he suddenly lost control of the mystical power to save, reload, and reset. He wanted to assume that the game was over. That everyone would get to have their happy ending. Asriel sacrificed Flowey’s hopes and dreams for it, afterall.

     What if he was wrong?

 

     “EMBARK CAREFULLY, LYRA,” Papyrus stepped into a boat on a narrow river. He extended a gloved hand to the human girl. “THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER IS QUITE COLD SHOULD YOU SLIP OFF.”

     “Noted,” Lyra took Papyrus’ hand and stepped onto the boat as deliberately as possible. 

     The boat was manned by a cloaked figure. The mystery person whispered something to Papyrus, to which Papyrus nodded. Suddenly, the boat launched forward, nearly throwing Lyra off. She held onto her seat for dear life as Papyrus and the river person seemed to maintain their center of gravity despite the speed and rapid turns. Soon, the cavern turned to the red color of a heated oven. The switch from cool to hot made Lyra feel somewhat sickly in addition to her nausea. Her head began to hurt in a familiar way as Papyrus helped her off the boat. 

     “Oh no,” Lyra clutched her head in her hands as the river person took off again with other passengers.

     “WHAT IS WRONG, LYRA?” Papyrus put a hand on her upper back, concerned. “YOU LOOK UNWELL!” He tried to examine her face through her fingers.

     “My head…” Lyra sat on the ground. “My head feels like it will explode.”

     “LET ME BE THE ONE TO CARRY YOU, LYRA,” Papyrus gestured to his back. “I PROMISE I WON’T KIDNAP YOU ANYMORE.” Papyrus seemed to joke with her, until he added, “WE DON’T TAKE HUMANS PRISONER SINCE WE WERE FREED.”

     “Okay,” Lyra didn’t have the brainpower to process that statement. Instead, Papyrus suddenly lifted her into his skeletal arms and walked her through Hotlands. She was in too much pain to protest. Plus, she couldn’t be late for work. With what mental ability she had left, she knew Papyrus was doing her a favor and she couldn’t complain.

     They passed through Hotland, and seemed to enter the purple areas of the Underground again. Papyrus seemed to turn and walk into back streets and alleyways. He looked to see the puzzled look on her face, and responded.

     “MY BROTHER HAS A WAY OF TAKING SHORTCUTS BY WALKING TO STRANGE AREAS,” Papyrus grinned. “HE HAS TRIED TO SHOW ME BEFORE, AND I KNOW WITH ENOUGH PRACTICE I WILL BE ABLE TO DO SO AS WELL. IT ONLY WORKS IF ONE TRAVELS IN THESE STRANGE WAYS.” Papyrus chuckled. “YOU KNOW, SANS USUALLY FALLS ASLEEP AFTER HE SHOWS ME HIS TRICK SEVERAL TIMES IN A ROW.”

     As Papyrus explained himself, Lyra noticed some shadows moving in the darkness. Soon, the alley Papyrus and Lyra were in became devoid of color. In front of them, three Monsters of the same species appeared. They all had a giant eye at the center of their small bodies, which seemed to randomly morph from an eye to a more familiar face structure - two eyes and a sinister smile. The one in the center, wearing an orange cap, pointed at Papyrus and shouted, “Give us the human!”

     “WHY DO YOU WANT THE HUMAN? I AM ESCORTING THEM BACK TO THE SURFACE.”

     “They are the reason we can’t live up there! Give her to us so we can take her soul and do something about it!” One of the other Monsters spoke up. They wore a blue bandana tied around their arm. It seemed to be shaking.

     “Yeah!” The last Monster was wearing a yellow bandana on the opposite arm added. “They won’t even let my cousin Goopy up there to visit! They said he’d be too creepy for the humans to lay their eye on!”

     “BE THAT AS IT MAY,” Papyrus shook his head. “I CANNOT LET YOU HAVE THIS HUMAN. YOU CANNOT TAKE THEIR SOUL OR ANYONE ELSE'S SOUL FOR THAT MATTER. ITS…” Papyrus thought about his words carefully. “IT IS BARBARIC. YOU CANNOT END THIS HUMAN’S LIFE. IT ISN’T THE RIGHT WAY TO DO THINGS.”

     “Oh, really? What is the right way?” The middle Monster spoke again, his companions nodding and cheering him on. “To let the humans keep the surface all to themselves for the next 1,000 years? No! We will take her soul and use that power to take other souls.” He started to ready an attack. “If we have to beat you up a bit to get to her, then,” The Monster launched a series of bubble-like attacks at Papyrus and Lyra. “I GUESS YOU MIGHT END UP BITING THE DUST!”

     Lyra braced herself for the attack since she was in front, being held up by Papyrus. Instead, she opened her eyes to see Papyrus had quickly turned and took the brunt of the attack on his back. He didn’t seem damaged at all, though. Papyrus sat Lyra on the ground and frowned.

     “I AM SORRY, LYRA. I DIDN’T THINK WE’D FIND RUFFIANS TODAY,” He turned to face the trio of Monsters. “PLEASE, DON’T TELL SANS ABOUT THIS.”

     Papyrus threw an arm out toward his attacks and several bones seemed to pop up from the ground in various arrays. The Monsters jumped and twirled around his attack like a game of hopscotch. The Monster with the blue bandana nodded at the Monster with the yellow bandana. They launched a team attack of bubbles in a strange pattern at Papyrus. He let every blow hit.

     “I SEE, YOU ARE QUITE STRONG,” Lyra couldn’t tell if Papyrus was mocking them. His tone seemed genuine, though it still didn’t seem like he took any sort of damage. “LET ME MATCH YOUR STRENGTH WITH SOME OF MY OWN TRICKS.” Papyrus launched a bone attack again, this time blue bones appeared suddenly between some of his attacks. This apparently threw some of the Monsters off guard, because they all took hits from the white bones while standing still through the blue ones. Lyra didn’t fully understand what she was seeing, but it was clear that blue was something you had to let pass through you to succeed.

     With that single attack, all the enemy Monsters laid on the ground. Color returned to the world, and Lyra remembered that the same thing had happened when Sans attacked her earlier that day. She then realized she had been attacked twice in the same day by Monsters. Papyrus turned away from the Monsters squirming on the ground and lifted Lyra up again. He grinned and continued to walk. 

     “So, is it true then?” Lyra asked suddenly as her headache seemed to lift. “Monsters can take human souls?”

     “UNFORTUNATELY, YES.” Papyrus’ face grew grim. “I DIDN’T LEARN ABOUT THIS UNTIL A COUPLE YEARS AGO, BUT THE SOULS OF HUMANS ARE DIFFERENT FROM US MONSTERS. WHEN YOU…” Papyrus seemed unsure of how to word his explanation. “WHEN YOU DIE, LYRA, YOUR SOUL LINGERS BEHIND FOR AN INDETERMINATE AMOUNT OF TIME. AND,” Papyrus’ gaze shifted around. “DON’T TELL UNDYNE I TOLD YOU, BUT, A MONSTER CAN ABSORB A HUMAN SOUL AND GET REALLY BUFF.”

     “Buff? I guess that sounds like a thing,” Lyra felt her headache ease up. “You can let me walk now, Papyrus. I feel a bit better.”

     Papyrus obliged. They walked side by side through the streets toward the entrance. Papyrus seemed wary of taking her through back roads again.

     “So,” Lyra felt curious, “Can a human absorb a Monster soul?”

     “THAT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION,” Papyrus rubbed his chin bone. “IT IS SAID THAT HUMANS CAN, BUT IT JUST HASN’T EVER HAPPENED BEFORE.”

 

     Lyra and Papyrus said their goodbyes at the gate, and Lyra spent the rest of her pocket change on the bus ride back. She noticed it was the same driver on the 100X and gave him a polite nod. He nodded back. Lyra sat near the back of the bus and felt the stares of Monsters upon her as they departed from the Underground entrance. She thought perhaps she was one of the first humans to ever ride the bus.

     That was true, but the Monsters were actually beaming in her direction. They were filled with hope. Rumors spread fast in the Monster community and while many of them didn’t know Lyra personally, they had read or heard her description. A Monster and a human were getting romantic! Monsters were usually overjoyed when they heard one of their own mixing in with the humans. It meant that their integration had a chance. Cases could be made for Monsters to live above ground if it was for the sake of love and family. Even King Asgore realized the folly of his ancestors’ ways when he undid the ban against amorphous and monomorphous marriage. After all, the swamp creature and a cat Monster had a right to be married. The humans would understand, right? Love is love.

 

     By the end of the day that Wednesday, many things had transpired. Undyne spent all her free time during Alphys’ classes committing vigilante acts of justice while disguised as an anime character. Boredom took over Alphys’ mind in every class as she found herself daydreaming about going to anime club at the end of the month. Lyra learned a lot about Monsters, and discovered that they weren’t all as kind or sweet as Papyrus and others who regularly traveled to the surface.

     Sans’ eyes opened slowly. As slowly as a zombie, he rose from his position on the sofa taking a moment to realize where he was. His last memory had been in the library atrium with Lyra. The lights in his home were dark, and he could hear the familiar rattle of Papyrus’ bones when he slept. Sans frowned. He wondered if Papyrus had to go out into the human world by himself. Papyrus was his little brother, and too kind for his own good. Undyne noticed that about his brother from the start, and so Sans relaxed whenever Papyrus gushed about joining the royal guard. It was never going to happen, and so Papyrus would stay safe. 

     Now the surface was open, and humans had already done a number of cruel things without provocation. He grunted as he pulled his phone out and flipped it open. His face was illuminated by the screen’s dim glow. He noticed his UnderNet app had 99 notifications on it. Sans almost never used UnderNet. He only got on it because Alphys had begged him to be her friend on it. Curious, he opened the app up and checked his notifications. After a moment, his face turned a deep shade of blue and sweat beads started to form on his skull.

     There were many pictures. Pictures taken by nosy Monsters that shouldn’t have access to camera phones, Sans determined immediately. He saw a few different shots of Lyra pressing against him in the library atrium. His drooling face pressed on her arm inside the 100X. He blushed much deeper once he realized his arms were wrapped around hers. Finally, he saw a shot of her carrying him in the entrance area. He was on her back, and Lyra seemed to look back at him with a strangely pleasant smile. Every photo had his username, skelepun, tagged, including embarrassing hashtags such as #cute, #loveislove, #adorable, #monsterhope, #piggyback, and oddly he started to see a couple of tags floating around his mentions #teamsans and #teampapyrus? He saw there were some photos of Papyrus walking with Lyra and then later carrying her around. These all seemed to be posted in a group run by a friendly name. His eye socket twitched when he read a few comments on the latter picture.

 

     ALPHYS: i was the first to ship #teamsans, omg in class i am like just kiss! But #teampapyrus seems way cuter. first, we all know papyrus is a cinnamonbun, but it is so cool to see him be so manly! second, seeing a pure couple ship with no sin is amazin

     CoolSkeleton95: I AM NOT A CINNAMON BUN, ALSO, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY MANLY. HAVE YOU SEEN MY PROFILE PICTURE?

     ALPHYS: papyrus, you are ruining my headcanon right now

     CoolSkeleton95: HOW CAN I BE RUINING IT IF I AM NOT EVEN THERE TO TINKER WITH SUCH A DEVICE? ALSO, WHAT IS SHIPPING?

 

     Sans considered unfriending Alphys for a moment, before deciding to just talk with her about this behavior in the morning. Alphys had a way of getting lost and forgetting real life people aren’t her fictional playthings. He sighed. Looking around himself, Sans went back to a picture of Lyra giving Sans a piggyback ride. Without much thought, he saved the photo. Afterall, she had taken him to Papyrus. Papyrus hadn’t put himself in harm’s way to come pick up Sans, thank goodness. Sans realized Lyra had spent a minimum of 2 hours getting Sans to the Underground then got herself a ride back out to wherever she goes. He laid back down on the couch and thought about his options. He wrote a text message to her and sent it.

 

     Sans: thanks. i’m sorry for causing you trouble. frankly, you are great. (Hotdog emoji)

 

     Sans felt his heart pounding in his ribcage. Why did he send an emoji? Emojis were stupid. Yet, if he didn’t send that emoji, she wouldn’t get the joke. Why was he joking around with her? What was happening. Then his phone buzzed. He looked down and noticed the time first as he averted his eyes from his messages. It was 1 AM. Did she already reply?

 

     Lyra: You are silly. No problem! Just make sure you don’t faint in random places… feel free to text or call me if you need any help.

 

     Sans flipped his phone closed and sighed. He had started the day with cautious feelings toward Lyra. Now, he suddenly felt interested in her. She was kind enough to go out of her way to help him get home. Papyrus was safe and sound in his bed. Lyra also responded to texts in a timely manner, which was nice to know for their future in building their project together. He realized he had been pushy earlier about their project topic. Sans had been very rude to Lyra for almost no reason it seemed like now. Still…

     Why did her soul look like a Monster’s soul? She was clearly human. She looked human, acted like a human, and sounded human. She lived in the human world her whole life… so why did her soul point upward instead of downward? Sans decided he would text her tomorrow and ask about it. She didn’t seem to know anything at the time… but he had also just launched a vicious attack at her. That sort of thing would frazzle many minds. He wondered how to apologize to her again about the attack. Saying sorry didn’t really cut it. 

     Sans knew what was happening to him. It made him feel like a teenager somewhat. He hadn’t felt a crush for someone for the past couple of years, and even then, the crush didn’t end very well. The best part is that he had these feelings because of something he hadn’t even been able to experience. There was no way he could let these feelings continue for the human girl Lyra. It was most likely not allowed. It could bring danger to his doorstep, and Sans wouldn’t allow something like that. Not with Papyrus. Still, Sans pulled out his phone again to let his gaze linger on the photo of Lyra carrying him. He was allowed to have a one-sided crush. That should be okay, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter! I enjoyed writing this one the most so far, because I enjoy writing Papyrus. I hope that my writing of him is believable enough. Papyrus is a sweet cinnabon, this is true, but he is also pretty sure of himself. Also he has excellent stats, so in my mind Papyrus is basically a cinnabon super hero.
> 
> This won't be a super slow burn like other fanfics out there, sorry if that is something you enjoy reading. In my experience, romance blooms pretty quickly from even the smallest touch. After all, the crush I had on my husband a long while ago formed from sitting so close to him that our legs touched... hah!
> 
> Glad that I am able to put some THINGS HAPPENING in this chapter. There will be an actual plot, but I get to it without planning the paths to the major points. I love to be randomly inspired by real life... cause boy, there are a lot of examples of human hate right now. #sorrypolitics
> 
> Sorry for a long note. Felt like I wanted to reach out and talk with you a bit about what is going on in my story.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy your next read!


	8. The true meaning of "its complicated"

     The King of all Monsters was a fierce man in appearance. He resembled the minotaur creatures of legend, though his fur was white and his mane a golden color. The king stood tall and even towered over some of the larger Monsters. While he hasn’t had as much exercise as he used to, the king had bulk to him. Yet, despite his appearance, the king had a kind soul. He sat at a small round table in his garden above ground. It was one of the few places the Monsters had been allowed to build, and the king was grateful. Here the yellow flowers burst from the ground and displayed their beautiful petals for the king. A memory from a time long before all this captured the king. The smiles of his young children has they played together.

     “Sire,” the king’s thoughts were interrupted by a flaming green creature. It had the build of a man and wore a suit which somehow did not catch aflame. “I’m sorry, King Asgore… it seems you were right.” The green flame handed the king an envelope. There was no return address, and the handwriting on the front was plain.

     “What’s this?” Asgore asked his servant. Fip, as the green flamed was called, was the head of Asgore’s security and intelligence team.

     “This is a letter that came from the human realm. As we processed it, through your instructions, we discovered it enchanted, hexed, and cursed… we removed these spells, but… sire… How could this be?”

     “This is the proof that the magi still exist in human society,” Asgore sighed. 

     “As you request, I’ve studied up on the human’s side of events,” Fip pulled a notebook from inside his coat. He flipped it open and read, “Preliminary findings show that humans erased all evidence of our coexistence. Our kind became fairytales and horror stories, and we ceased to be apart of the surface world narrative. Likewise, magi seemed to become their own legends. Our researchers found signs that humans had wiped out their kind.”

     “Evidently they did not wipe out everyone,” the king opened the envelope. After a moment, his claws began to tremble. The note was written by hand and carried a simple message. A familiar message.

     Dust for Blood

 

     Sans managed to awaken early enough to catch Alphys on the phone before she finished the walk to the bus stop with Undyne. As soon as she answered his ring, Sans gave her an earful. Mostly comments about how it was okay for her to pair up fictional characters, but that she was giving a lot of credence to some of the other nerds in the Underground since Alphys personally knew everyone involved in yesterday’s gossip about human x Monster stories. Alphys sighed once she got off the phone with him.

     Alphys was going to have to follow the action on her alt UnderNet account.

     Undyne felt pumped for the day. She would escort her cute girlfriend to class and go around rescuing humans and Monsters from petty villains. Every single villain seemed to be a human sadly enough, and Undyne managed to scare all of them into simply running away from her. No one tried to fight back. Undyne figured humans were mostly wusses. What made them so much stronger?

 

     Thursday was just another day on the surface. Lyra worked on her homework on her laptop as she watched the news on the television. Of course, the big focus these days were on Monsters. The news reported that humans had been reportedly attacked by a gang of unknown Monsters. The people had no choice but to fight back, causing the Monsters involved to turn to dust. There was no footage of the event, and the humans were unable to describe the Monsters who perished. The humans would go unnamed, as there was a danger of Monsters seeking retribution against them. 

     Lyra thought back to the eyeball gang that had attacked her. What would she have done if Papyrus hadn’t been there to protect her? Lyra frowned as she turned her attention back to the reading she had to finish by Friday’s class. 

 

     After a shower, Lyra got ready for work. Thursday evenings were usually slow at the academic library in McAuley University. The library had been named Winkler, after a major donor to the school. Many of the students simply called it Winkler or ‘the library.’ Thursday through the weekend’s nights were usually peaceful until the end of the semester crept up on students. Lyra looked forward to being able to slack off and read ebooks on her computer at the public information desk.

     As Lyra did exactly as she hoped, she always tried to look up every now and then in case the odd student came up needing her assistance. To her surprise, about an hour into her shift, she spotted Sans. Instead of his business casual attire, he looked more laid back. He wore a blue hoodie over a plain white shirt. He still wore his slacks, but he seemed to be wearing an old pair of sneakers. Lyra thought he seemed a lot more at ease than when he looked ready to go to church. He approached her desk, and looked around the floor.

     “pretty cool operation you got here,” Sans commented casually. He was short enough to put his elbow on her desk and laid his skull on his hand. “mind if i check this place out?”

     “Oh, more puns,” Lyra rolled her eyes playfully, “Let me try… You could check it out, but I don’t think I can authorize that.”

     “heh nice,” Sans looked away from her. He didn’t seem to have anything more to say, so the silence between them was palpable. Lyra decided to break the ice.

     “So, what brings you here?” Lyra asked. “Did you want to talk about our project?”

     “oh yeah,” Sans nodded. “we should definitely talk about our project.”

     “Great!” Lyra smiled at him, then she gave him a puzzled look. “Why did you come out here though? I don’t think I told you that I work here…”

     “uh,” Sans stood upright. He put a hand on the back of his neck and looked downward, thinking of something to say. “i heard it from a friend.” It was a half lie. He saw an UnderNet ‘friend’ post a cute picture of Lyra working the public desk. Sans kept a mental note of the username, since it seemed that person had a crush on Lyra too.

     “I see,” Lyra wasn’t sure if Sans had that many friends aside from Alphys and his brother. “Well, let’s talk shop, shall we?”

 

     Talk shop they did. Sans decided to try compromising with Lyra more than he had been doing previously. Lyra seemed to notice, and was giving into trying something aside from a history project. As they discussed various topics, Sans began to mentally kick himself. He had come to the library just to hang out with Lyra and see her. He thought seeing her in person again he would go back to having a more neutral look on her, but as they spoke it became clear that the infatuation would persist. As they spoke about the wonders of the known universe, Lyra’s face lit up every time they agreed on various things, such as how amazing it is that anyone managed to make it to space. How humans and Monsters should work together to try to terraform planets. Lyra seemed to really listen to Sans as he explained various Monster theories about space, despite how long it had been since they were able to study it firsthand. It had been such a long time since Sans had geeked out about science that he realized he dominated their conversations at the end.

     “you know, even if it isn’t the same thing, we do have this cool place in the underground,” Sans looked into Lyra’s eyes. “it’s in waterfall. i think you’d love it.”

     “Is it that place with all the blue flowers?” She asked.

     “yeah,” Sans felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. “guess you saw it already?”

     “Yeah, your brother lead me through there while you were out cold.” Lyra beamed at Sans. “You know, your brother really is something!”

     The words shot right through Sans’ heart, gave him a cardiac arrest, and he died on the spot. Or so that is how he felt. All the strange comments with #teampapyrus flooded through his mind. What if his crush had a crush on his brother? Should he be happy? Should he be furious? Papyrus was still too young to date!

     “Hello? Sans?” Lyra waved a hand in front of his face. “This is ground control to Major Sans?”

     “oh,” Sans’ grin almost faltered. “i guess i was just thinking about how cool my bro is.”

     “He seems like a big sweetheart,” Lyra smiled. “I hope we can all hang out sometime.”

     Lyra was oblivious of the strange scenarios playing through Sans’ mind. Sans damned how cool Papyrus was. Lyra was no fool, and clearly had excellent taste. Either way, she couldn’t date Papyrus. It would put them both in danger.

     “You’re ignoring me again,” Lyra frowned as she poked Sans’ forehead. Since the other day and their intense conversation just a moment ago, Lyra felt her natural self shine through. She felt that she could be comfortable with Sans now. After all, she had technically touched his butt. 

     “sorry,” Sans stuck his hands into his pockets. Suddenly, the lights in the building flickered on and off. “wattage that about?”

     “Ha! That seems to happen pretty randomly. I think its the ghost.”

     “ghost?” Sans waved away the thought. 

     “Yep, they say a girl got murdered in the closed stacks….” Lyra pointed at the double doors just across from them at the other side of the floor. “No one knows what happened.”

     “do you believe in that?” 

     Lyra shrugged. “Not really. I just like spooky stories.”

     “good,” Sans nodded. “its rude to assume all ghosts go around haunting people.”

     “Uh… Are you saying ghosts are real?”

     “duh,” Sans pulled out his phone, quickly opening his photo gallery and skipping past the images he saved of Lyra. He opened up a photo of himself with his arm around a perturbed looking ghost. He showed it to her. “that’s one of my pals, naps.”

     “Naps? I could go for a nap.” Lyra yawned and looked over at her PC. “Oh wow, we’ve been talking for like 3 hours…”

     “i hadn’t noticed.”

     “I get off work in a bit. Do you want to hang out?” Lyra started logging off of websites from the desk computer. “I finished all my homework already.”

     “sure!” Sans replied quickly. “we should totally catalog out of here.”

     “A bit weak of a pun, don’t you think?” Lyra smiled. She noticed her replacement coming toward her.

     “what can i say? i got a skele-ton of bad jokes.”

     “You are… so silly,” Lyra stood up and walked around the desk. “Thanks Mike. Its been really quiet.” Lyra addressed the human male that approached the desk.

     “No problem,” Mike grinned. “Can I help you sir? Lyra is off duty.”

     “oh,” Sans looked up at Lyra. “nah, i was just leaving.”

 

     Sans and Lyra walked out of the library in silence. As they left through the front doors, Sans looked to Lyra. They walked side by side and she was clearly leading the way. Lyra looked down at Sans and looked shock.

     “Oh my gosh, sorry, I guess I was auto piloting,” Lyra blushed somewhat.

     “where to?” Sans asked.

     “Home,” Lyra’s red deepened around her ears. Thankfully, her long black hair provided the perfect cover. Sans wasn’t sure how to take what she said. Did she forget he was right next to her and that they were going to hang out? He realized very quickly how similar this felt compared to when he originally attended college some odd years ago. “I didn’t forget about you,” Lyra added as she read Sans’ expression. “I just realized that I don’t really go out anymore. I am pretty much a homebody.”

     “no worries,” Sans grinned. “i am cool with doing absolutely nothing.”

     “Great! Um, I guess I will drive us to my place?” 

 

     Lyra and Sans had a few moments in silence until Sans broke it with a joke. Lyra laughed, and Sans gave himself kudos for getting her to laugh at his bad joke. Sans realized Lyra probably didn’t have any cash to come to his place since she had to spend it on the 100X. While Monsters all got paid passes, humans would have to pay a big fare to ride. While 100X was the bus for Monsters, there were other buses that took humans up to Mt. Ebott. Only buses were allowed to drive up into Mt. Ebott for the time being as the human world hadn’t allowed Monsters the right to build parking lots just yet. Lyra had really gone out of her way to help him yesterday.

     “thanks again,” Sans changed the mood in an instant.

     “No worries, really,” The confidence in her voice assured him. “I know you would have done the same for me. You aren’t as mean as you’d like to seem.”

     “i guess we both got bad impressions of each other for having bad days,” Sans shrugged. “i already have all my degrees and masters, but humans don’t accept them right now.”

     “Is that why you are in school right now?”

     “yeah, i need a piece of human paper that says i know what i know.”

     “That’s bullshit.” 

     Sans hadn’t heard Lyra cuss before, but he added it to his growing list of why Lyra was cute. What he didn’t know is that Lyra had started her own list about Sans.

     Lyra pulled up into the driveway of a small home. It was a tudor styled home which stuck out amongst all the other homes which were all in the ranch or colonial styles. Lyra’s roof, shutters, and doors were all purple, while the house itself was painted white. A beautiful garden hugged her home. Before Sans could comment, she said, “I don’t garden. One of my uncle’s friends loved gardening but doesn’t have the space for it in her apartment, so she spends time here sometimes doing just that.”

     Inside, Sans understood immediately how cozy of a person Lyra actually was. He fell in love with the atmosphere her home created. Many of the walls were lined with books as bookshelves seemed to be built into almost every wall. The living room they walked into had a fireplace with a fantastical painting of a starry sky above it. Lyra had a love seat, rocking chair, and some egg shaped chairs in faint, royal colors such as blue, purple, and red. Lyra kicked off her shoes, and Sans followed suit. 

     “Welcome to my home, Sans,” Lyra gestured around her. “If we ever think the library is too crazy, my home is also a library. This is my late uncle’s home…” Lyra seemed to be holding back tears suddenly. She turned away from him quickly and waved at all the books. “This is what he left me. Isn’t that great?”

     “wow,” Sans decided not to comment on his death. He could tell it still pained her with how quickly her eyes wet. “this is cool. so what should we do?”

     “Well, we could hang out in here and read books,” Lyra offered, but Sans gave her a look. “Okay, okay. I agree, I just read a whole bunch. Tell me, Sans, do you like tv?”

     “i’m a lazy asshole,” Sans shrugged, but grinned. “of course i love tv.”

     “Let’s go hang out in my other living room.”

     “you have two?”

 

     The pair sat in the living room that was actually just a dining room with a sofa and tv. Sans could tell Lyra was the kind of person who ate on the couch or at the breakfast nook in her kitchen. He admired that since it was his preferred way to life as well. Lyra played a cynical comedy show about the apocalypse on her Netflix account. The Monsters weren’t able to access the majority of human entertainment legally yet, and so he felt engrossed with the content playing out. Before he knew it, Lyra has passed out on the couch with him. 

     At the start of the tv marathon, Lyra had been sitting decently apart from him, but it seemed her sofa drew them together through the sheer force of gravity as their weight pulled them closer. As she slept, Lyra seemed to lean closer and closer. Sans had no idea what to do. He tried to focus on watching the human show play, but it felt like she came closer and closer to him. Eventually, her entire weight shifted toward him, knocking him down. Her head landed nested between the backrest of the sofa and his skeletal neck. 

     Lyra woke from the impact, but had a sleepy look in her eye. She scrunched up her face and stated, “My brain hurts and you are soft. This sounds weird, but, can we watch tv like this?”

     Sans’ mind went blank. She just asked to basically cuddle with him on the sofa. Is this what the kids meant these days by Netflix and chill? Sans thought about how badly things would go if humans found out they had snuggled. He had heard someone got dusted earlier in the same day. 

     Sans couldn’t resist temptation. “sure.”

     Lyra’s lips curled into a small smile as she closed her eyes again and didn’t even maintain the illusion that she wanted to watch tv. Sans began to wonder if she had trapped him somehow. He felt very odd suddenly. It was true that Monsters could fall in love very easily. Could humans do the same?

     “I want to be honest with you, Sans,” Lyra whispered into Sans’ skull where his ear would be. “I am really surprised that you feel so soft. Like, really soft.” Sans resisted the urge to make a terrible joke, because he suddenly felt desperate to understand what Lyra’s intentions were. “I know this is weird and sudden, but I wonder if I would feel better having a snuggle buddy. I haven’t had physical contact with someone in a long time now.”

     Sans’ heart thudded. He didn’t understand what she was asking for. “like, just snuggling, right?”

     “If you are okay with it,” Lyra answered. They weren’t necessarily on the same page with that question. Sans felt somewhat used, but he also felt like he wouldn’t entirely mind it. Snuggling with no strings? That is basically the best scenario he could hope for.

     “i guess we’re gonna be having a…” Sans chuckled, “a bed time.”

     “You are the silliest person.” Lyra wrapped her arms around Sans, cradling him closely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things. Are. Happening.
> 
> Eventually we will move into the more slice-of-life elements of this story! There will be short time skips, small stories that illustrate what is going on with the different characters in this story, and cute fluffy things mixed in with pretty sad happenings.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy so far and will continue to come for what I have in store.


	9. Let's work together again! :)

     Despite the climate of hatred surrounding the Monsters, their lives and the lives of the humans near them fell into a predictable schedule. Fairly quickly, the students became accustomed to each other. A new club entitled Human And Monster Alliance, or HAMA, formed with a humans and Monsters forming a board rather than the usual presidential hierarchy. Overall, the positivity from this collaboration seemed to lessen the number of protesters after the first week finished.

     In the second week of school, the last week of August, everyone settled into a kind of routine. During the weekend, Lyra and Sans spent a few hours hanging out. They cuddled on the sofa, and usually Lyra wrapped her entire self around Sans. She enjoyed that he was small, since it made cuddling a lot easier. When she touched Sans, her headaches seemed to decrease. Upon this realization, Sans and Lyra would sneak away during Lyra’s free periods the following week and cuddle in Sans’ napping place.

     They tried to talk about potential projects for their shared class, but the pressure wasn’t enough to motivate them to stay on topic. They had until mid October to pick a topic, and so they weren’t rushed yet. Instead, they cautiously shared facts about their lives. Sans spoke about his time as a scientist while Lyra told him about her childhood. Through their conversations, they learned a few things:

  1. Lyra was 21 and Sans was ‘27’. Sans wouldn’t specify why he used air quotes.
  2. They both enjoyed absurdist humor.
  3. Lyra was a lot more playful than she had previously seemed. She just wore two faces. Public for decency and private for people she trusted.
  4. Sans was incredibly cynical, but in some regards he was very optimistic. For example, he knew that he would eventually find a great job, humans would let them live above ground, and his brother would be able to enjoy the sun full time.
  5. They both avoided topics concerning the nature of their relationship.



     Alphys had a harder week than most of the other students. She and Undyne went to eat lunch at a local restaurant that served both humans and Monsters. Other than the odd human that peaked their head in to yell vague obscenities at the dining patrons, the atmosphere was a friendly one. The owners personally came out to introduce themselves to the Monsters and thank them for their business.

     As Alphys and Undyne began to walk back toward campus, they witnessed a human man nab a human woman’s purse. She screamed for help. Without hesitating, Undyne leaped into the fray. She transformed in front of Alphys and threw her spear toward the man. It landed just in front of him, startling him. This gave Undyne enough time to catch up. In a blink, the man dropped the purse and ran away. Undyne picked up the purse and ran it over to it’s owner. The woman thanked Undyne, hugged, and took a selfie with her.

     As the scene unfolded before Alphys’ eyes, she noted two things. One, Undyne should cosplay more often. Two, Undyne’s reaction meant that she had done this before. Alphys had left class early once so far and actually had to call Undyne since she wasn’t at the agreed upon meeting place. Now she understood what Undyne had been doing while she was at class. Undyne did seem overeager to be sitting still reading manga while Alphys attended classes.

     Once Undyne and Alphys made it to their shared apartment near the entrance, Alphys started to panic. She knew she would have to talk to Undyne about her actions, but she didn’t like confrontation. As Undyne and Alphys settled in for the night, Alphys has several opportunities to bring up the vigilante act, but just couldn’t. Instead, she distracted herself with homework while Undyne watched anime.

 

     Papyrus worked as a tour guide at the behest of the king himself. His friendliness and great confidence made him the most highly requested guide. Humans were not allowed to wander too deeply into the Underground without a Monster escort, so the guide program was popular and expensive. The curiosity of the humans caused the king’s coffers to grow. Asgore hoped that the funds acquired from the tours would help him financially as he paid quite a bit to get the buses to run up the mountain to his kingdom.

     Lately, Papyrus noted that Sans spent a lot of time on the surface with Lyra. It made him feel lonely. He visited Toriel’s home while Sans was gone on the weekend. Papyrus enjoyed playing with Frisk, and it had been a while since the two spent any meaningful time together.

     “Oh, Papyrus, so lovely to see you,” Toriel welcomed Papyrus in. Papyrus handed Toriel a toy bone. She laughed and placed it on the small table by her front door. Toriel lead Papyrus to a seat on her sofa. She took her place on her recliner. “How are you, dear?”

     “I AM DOING WELL, MS. TORIEL,” Papyrus gave her a big smile. He learned from Sans years prior that Toriel was not Asgore’s clone. He still sometimes let it slip through his lips, so he made a lot of effort to call her Ms. Toriel. “WHERE IS FRISK? I HOPED I COULD PLAY WITH THEM TODAY.”

     “Ah, Frisk,” Toriel frowned and shook her head. “Frisk has been… sick lately. They can’t play today.” Toriel saw Papyrus’ smile flatter. “Is something the matter, Papyrus?”

     “WELL,” Papyrus sighed. “I WISH I COULD GO SEE THE SURFACE MORE.”

     “I see,” Toriel looked away. “I think the surface is dangerous, but I see the longing in your eye. You know, I once tried to fight Frisk to keep them safe in my home?”

     “YOU DID?” Papyrus gawked. He couldn’t imagine this old lady fighting Frisk. “THAT IS PRETTY AWFUL!”

     “Hey!” She stuck her nose up. “Didn’t you fight Frisk too?”

     “YES, BUT THAT WAS A DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCE,” Papyrus smiled remembering how Frisk flirted and was caught over and over again by Papyrus. He promised to never tell anyone about their romantic tryst. “I CANNOT DESCRIBE WHY IN DETAIL. JUST TRUST ME. IT WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT.”

     “Of course,” Toriel laughed. She had heard from Sans that Frisk and Papyrus had a play date after their three battles head to head in which both parties had 0 killing intent. “Why don’t you have Sans take you?”

     “OH, SANS, YES,” Papyrus realized he couldn’t talk about how Sans kept visiting the human named Lyra on the surface. They seemed to be dating, in his opinion. “WELL, HE IS VERY BUSY DOING… SURFACE THINGS.”

     “Maybe we should all plan to go to the surface,” Toriel suggested. “With Frisk when they feel better.”

     “I WOULD VERY MUCH ENJOY THAT, MS. TORIEL!”

     “Alright, I will make plans,” Toriel nodded. She looked over to her grandfather clock and noted the time. “Oh dear! Would you like to stay for dinner? I need to start preparing.”

     “COULD I?” Papyrus’ eyes lit up. “I LOVE YOUR COOKING. YOUR SUGARY QUICHES ARE DELICIOUS.”

     “Hehehe, they are pies, Papyrus.”

 

     The next day, Toriel knocked on Frisk’s door. With no reply, she let herself in. The room was dark, and she saw Frisk tucked in their bed. She strolled over to the bed and sat at the foot, trying to avoid Frisk’s feet. She could hear Frisk’s labored breathing, as if they had been crying right before Toriel entered the room. She had seen this behavior before in her human child.

     “Frisk,” Toriel placed a claw on Frisk’s back and began to rub. “My child, I am worried about you. Papyrus came yesterday and wanted to see you. I think it would be good for you to go out and see Papyrus. Don’t you?”

     All Frisk could see was the dust blowing and mixing into the snow.

     “My darling child,” Toriel felt her heart ache for her child. “I want to know what I can do to make you happy. What has happened? Did somebody hurt you?”

     Frisk’s knife cut into Toriel and she gave them a cruel smile as she stated they were just like the others.

     “If you tell me who has bullied you,” Toriel continued. “I will go ahead and inform their parents.”

     Frisk didn’t reply. After a while, Toriel sighed and decided to give Frisk space. Toriel closed the door to Frisk's room behind her and walked to her recliner. Her child, Chara, had also been a moody kid. Sometimes they shut themselves in their room and cried, never explaining why. Toriel had imagined that Chara gone through a terrible experience, as Chara only seemed to trust Asriel for a time. Still, Chara melded into the family with time. Toriel wondered briefly if the moodiness was just a human trait.

     Meanwhile, Frisk sat up and stared at the menu they had been looking at before Toriel entered. They pressed reset. They pressed it again. But nothing happened. They tried to load a save. Nothing happened. They tried to save the game. Nothing happened. They couldn’t go back.

     “Shame isn’t it?” They heard a voice say. It sounded like it came from everywhere. Frisk looked around themselves, but couldn’t find the source. “I could help you, if you let me.” In front of Frisk, a child manifested. They looked a few years younger than Frisk, with a happy smile. “Do you remember when you called for help when you fought Flowey?” Frisk nodded. “That was me helping you. I woke up the other souls.” Frisk gasped. “Do you remember when you fought the real Flowey? Asriel? I helped you reach out to those lost souls." Frisk seemed to drop their guard. Until Chara continued, "Do you remember how you couldn’t beat Sans? You just needed to hit him once to beat him?” The child approached Frisk, and Frisk scrambled backward. “That was me. You slashed at him, but it was my determination that brought the knife down again so quickly!” The child held out their hand. “Together, we defeated the enemy. You had the body, and I had the determination. Now, we can work together again.”

     Frisk looked down at the hand, and seemed to consider it. Moments passed. The being pulled their hand back and sighed. They turned away from Frisk.

     “I get it. This is not the kind of deal you can make on the fly. If you want to have a fun time again, you just need to call my name.” They turned around and gave Frisk a big, friendly grin. “My name is Chara. Call me when you need me.”

     Chara vanished.


	10. Like if the Ring was animated

     The last day of August came and went. Alphys felt teary eyed as she stood in front of the Anime Club room and read that the club meeting date had been pushed to mid October. Undyne pat her on the head, and the two decided to take a stroll around the college town instead. As they walked to the pathway leading to town, they spotted Sans and Lyra. Immediately, their minds synced, and they hid to avoid being seen by the pair. 

     “So Sans is really into this chick, huh?” Undyne whispered to Alphys.

     “Yeah,” Alphys nodded. Her demeanor became very serious. “I still have hopes that she and Papyrus will end up together.”

     “Really?” Undyne’s lip and nose pulled up to make a disgusted face at her girlfriend. “That’s kind of a weird thing to wish on your friend.” In the blink of an eye, Alphys unlocked her smartphone and showed her a professionally drawn image of Papyrus carrying Lyra bridal style. They were dressed in a black suit and wedding dress respectively. Undyne’s eyes bulged out of her eyes. “Woah! This looks real… is it?”

     “No,” Alphys added. “But doesn’t it look super cute?”

     “It is adorable, alright,” Undyne nodded slowly, knowing not to set Alphys' off into a nerd rage, “But haven’t they only met once?”

     “Yeah,” Alphys sighed. “But I have hope given that Sans is too dumb to admit anything to her. They are acting like this isn’t dating. He said they are just cuddle buddies.”

     “Cud-cuddle buddies?” Undyne gave Alphys a look of surprise. “No one just… No one just cuddles! Eventually, they are going to… to do it!” 

     Alphys nodded. If Papyrus and Lyra were ever going to hook up, Alphys would have to get Papyrus and Lyra to hang out more often. As she pondered, an evil plan formed in her mind. She grinned.

 

     “whachu reading?” Sans peaked away from the tv and to Lyra. She had suddenly burst out laughing while scrolling around on her phone.

     “Just shit Alphie posts,” Lyra grinned. “In person, she seems so nervous, but she is so different online.”

     The word  _ online _ reverberated through Sans’ skull. “alphie? you referring to alphys?”

     “Yeah,” Lyra nodded and laughed again. “Wow, she is so sarcastic.”

     “so,” Sans tried to sound casual, “you-you looking at undernet?”

     “UnderNet? What’s that?” Lyra asked. “Is that the, like, Underground version of Facebook?”

     “oh, where are you friends with alph on?” Sans changed the subject.

     “Facebook, actually,” Lyra showed him the app on her phone. Rather than purples, it was very blue and white. Sans let out a sigh of relief as Lyra kept reading her feed. If she had found her way onto UnderNet, she would probably find all those weird pictures from a while ago. Strangely, they all seemed to disappear, but knowing the internet, Sans figured there could still be people being creepy and sharing their creepshots. It made him feel very grumpy.

     “Want to see a movie tomorrow night?” Sans felt the relief evaporate from him. Lyra asked if he would come see a movie with him. Is that a date? Or did friends with clear romantic interest sometimes go to places alone to hang out in the dark? 

     Sans gulped, coughed, and regained his composure. He was always lucky that his perma-grin hid his true feelings. “heh, you tolkien me out?”

     Lyra honestly giggled at that pun. She seemed to enjoy his author-based puns, though Sans found them to be the most difficult to make. After all, his exposure to human literature was literally from a garbage dump. “Do you? It’s an anime movie. Not sure what it’s about, but I think it would be fun!”

     “of course,” Sans beamed. “did you know? japanese cartoons are… an anime of the state?”

     “Really?” Lyra put her phone on the table. “I’m going to have to-”

     “‘pun-ish you?’” Sans gave her a shit eating grin. 

     “You,” Lyra pushed Sans down, “are the silliest person.”

     “so you say.” Sans noticed Lyra’s go to statement was usually a variation of ‘you are silly.’ She seemed to say it in place of something else, though Sans dared not think too deeply about it. Whenever he told a particularly bad pun or a pun that needed too much set-up, she would tackle him as a form of punishment. Sans wasn’t sure what was so bad about it, and thoroughly enjoyed their snugglefests and naptimes. He thought about what it would be like to date her for real. He knew just going to the movie theater with her would be risky, but he couldn’t resist. Something about her was compelling him, he thought. He had fallen in love quickly before, but this felt somewhat different.

     As Sans was lost in his thoughts, Lyra had thoughts of her own. She noticed that her headaches were weaker for a while whenever she touched Sans, and that was good. She wondered if she had only been experiencing anxiety and if Sans was a kind of therapy skeleton. The past couple of times, however, Lyra’s headache went from a 3 to a 6. Originally, she would play her headaches at an 11, so a 6 was still an improvement, but it worried her. She worried her headaches were returning. 

     Sometimes, her thoughts turned to their brief conversations about souls. Sans seemed to deflect that topic whenever it came up, and Lyra wasn’t sure why. She vaguely remembered when they fought that her soul had popped out. Other than that, she practically fainted from the attack. Her thoughts turned to Sans’ soul. Monsters had souls, and Papyrus said that humans could supposedly absorb a Monster soul. Lyra wondered what Sans’ soul looked like as she stroked his chest.

 

     “Hey, nerds,” Undyne picked at her fangs with her pinky as she greeted Lyra and Sans. Sans had been excited all the way until he saw Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus standing inside the movie theater. 

     “HELLO, SANS!” Papyrus waved wildly.

     “paps,” Sans smiled. He held his nerves together and hoped everyone would think he was fine with this situation. “i thought you’d be out with frisk today?”

     “FRISK IS UNWELL,” Papyrus looked like he was about to cry. “FRISK HAS BEEN SICK FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW, I HEAR. MS. TORIEL IS VERY WORRIED.” Papyrus peppered up again. “BUT UNDYNE INVITED ME TO COME SEE THIS FILM WITH HER.” Undyne nodded.

     “Th-this is a Monster-friendly movie theater,” Alphys chimed in. “A-and we can dine in while we watch the movie. Pizza, burgers, hotdogs-”

     “DO THEY HAVE ANYTHING LESS GREASY?” Papyrus frowned and crossed his arms.

     “Uhh…” Alphys blanked.

     “They have nachos,” Lyra suggested. “Those aren’t greasy, but you probably want to avoid getting the cheese dip. There is also water if you aren’t into soda.”

     “OH, NACHOS?” Papyrus nodded. “I HAVEN’T TRIED A NACHO BEFORE. SHOULD BE INTERESTING…” As Papyrus pondered, Alphys handed everyone a ticket.

     “Oh, thanks!” Lyra smiled. “I’ll buy us some snacks. Papyrus, will you help me carry them?”

     “CERTAINLY, LYRA,” Papyrus and Lyra walked off to the concessions.

     “what’re you trying to pull, alph,” Sans spoke in a low voice. Undyne decided it would be best to hang out with Lyra and Papyrus than stick around for this conversation.

     “I’m just hanging out with my friends,” Alphys tried to keep a straight face, but her smile pulled back into a weird grin. “We don’t hang out often enough, don’t you think?”

     “sure,” Sans shrugged. “so you invited lyra and she invited me, huh? why didn’t you ask me yourself?”

     “She was right there online the other day, it seemed easier,” Alphys shrugged back. It wasn’t a lie. “I just thought it would be cool for us to get together.”

     “okay,” Sans seemed to accept this. 

     When they looked at the concession stand, the rest of the group had already left. Sans and Alphys walked to the appropriate part of the theater and had their tickets ripped by an older teen who seemed unmoved by seeing real life Monsters. The young man waved them in. 

     Inside, the theater was already quite dark. Sans could barely make out Lyra sitting on the far side of the theater. He could see each seat had a small table in front, and the seats were connected to one other seat. Next to her sat Papyrus. They shared a table. He then saw an empty space, with the following seat occupied by Undyne. As Alphys and Sans got to their row, Sans could clearly make out numbers. The number on his ticket put him on the opposite end of the row from his brother and Lyra. Before he could try to say a word, the commercials for other films began to play and Alphys had quickly found her seat with Undyne. Grumbling, Sans sat on his own with his own table.

     At the start of the showing, Lyra managed to pass Sans a burger with his own coke. As the film played, Sans realized Alphys was shipping again. The anime movie was incredibly scary, and spooked almost everyone in the theater except for Undyne, Lyra, and Sans. 

     Every time Sans looked after a scare to check on Papyrus, he saw his brother practically living in Lyra’s armpit, his bones rattled until Lyra started to rub his back. Sans felt conflicted. He felt jealous of Papyrus for having contact with Lyra, but he also felt happy that Lyra was taking care of his brother. He saw the look on her face during a brighter scene, and saw that she had a very mother-like look on her face. It reminded him of a certain someone.

 

     After the film, the group huddled around outside the theater and discussed the film. Alphys looked very pleased with herself, which Undyne noticed. She rolled her eye, and focused her attention on Papyrus.

     “You were SO scared,” Undyne laughed. “Especially when that creepy human girl burst out of that guy’s chest.”

     “NOTHING IN THAT FILM MADE ANY SENSE!” Papyrus exclaimed. “WAS THE HUMAN GIRL MAGICAL? HOW COULD SHE MAKE HER HAIR DO THOSE THINGS. IT WAS SO VIOLENT…” At this, Lyra stepped closer to Papyrus and rubbed his back. “THANK YOU, LYRA. I WASN’T REALLY SCARED. I JUST FOUND IT CONFOUNDING HOW THAT HUMAN WAS TELEPORTING ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT WAS CREEPY.”

     “its not about a real story or anything, papyrus,” Sans assured his brother. 

     “He’s right,” Lyra added. “That is a fictional story. Humans don’t have magical powers.”

     “VERY WELL,” Papyrus steadied himself. “I BELIEVE YOU.”

 

     They group was about to walk to campus so that the Monster could take the bus, but they had spent so much time goofing off it was too late to find a ride home. Undyne grunted as she noted the time outloud for everyone.

     “It’s freaking 11 PM, guys,” Undyne showed them the time on her phone. “Bus stopped running.”

     “Well,” Lyra coughed. “You guys can stay at my house if you want.”

     “WOWIE, REALLY?” Papyrus clapped his hands together. “LET’S HAVE A SLEEPOVER THEN!”

     Everyone loaded into Lyra’s car, which was a beat-up bug. They could all just barely fit. Papyrus, being the tallest, got to ride shotgun, with Sans being stuck behind him. Once they arrived at Lyra’s house, Papyrus informed her that her home was beautiful. Lyra shushed him gently as she opened the door to her home. 

     Inside, Undyne and Alphys sat on the sofa that Sans and Lyra usually cuddled on. Within minutes, they fell asleep. Sans felt incredibly awkward. He hadn’t seen much more of Lyra’s home, and wasn’t sure where he or Papyrus would sleep. Lyra lead them upstairs, and opened a dark wood door. 

     “Papyrus, you can stay in here. Sans…” Lyra gave him a thoughtful look. “Your choice. My room is right across the hall. The walls are kind of thin, but there you have it.”

     It took Sans a moment to register what she meant as Papyrus laid down on the bed in the bigger room. The room was spacious and had an office feel to half of it as it sported a desk with a desktop computer. The walls sparsely had decorations, and alongside the bed was a nightstand with what looked like a family photo. A little Lyra with very short hair stood alongside an older man with a wonderful, long, white beard and an old woman with a friendly smile. The bed felt like it hadn’t been used in quite some time. Papyrus felt his eyes grow heavy, and he drifted to sleep.

 

     Sans sat with Papyrus for a while, watching him fall asleep, before he got up and knocked on Lyra’s door. The smaller room opened up, and Lyra jumped from the door back into her bed. She managed to land softly enough that the noise was minimal. The walls were decorated with purple posies, and there were small bookshelves filled with picture books and children’s reference materials. Sans took it all in and figured the other room must’ve belonged to the uncle she sometimes talked about.

     Lyra beckoned him, and Sans obliged. They could feel their hearts drumming in their chest. While they were used to snuggling with one another, spending the whole night together felt different and dangerous. They both felt tempted to push the envelope, but each were paralyzed in each other’s arms. Who would make the first move? Should they? Papyrus was right next door, and two friends were crashing on the couch directly below them. Sans felt they better not. After a while, Sans noticed that Lyra’s breathing normalized. He registered that as a sign that she had fallen asleep. Full of longing, Sans dared to do something. He wriggled his way up from their usual cuddling position, him like a teddy bear in a girl’s arms, and brought himself up face to face with Lyra.

     Sans smiled as he saw that she was sleeping like a log. He thought of a terrible pun, ‘she is sleeping sans-ly,’ and chuckled softly to himself. Sans let his facial muscles relax and pressed his lips against Lyra’s. 

     They slept in.

 


	11. Undyne takes action

    Lyra’s eyes opened slowly. He eyes were blurry, but she could tell it was still nighttime. The room was pitch black, and it took her a moment to adjust to the darkness. She saw Sans looking back at her with his usual grin. Lyra noticed that Sans’ smile wasn’t as permanent as he liked to pretend it was, since the corners of his mouth would sometimes shift and change the entire look of his smile. Nervous smiles, happy smiles, shit-eating smiles… Sans shifted himself and he sat on top of her. Lyra, shocked at his gumption, said nothing.

    “we should have a little fun before everyone wakes up,” Sans removed his jacket and begun to remove his white tee. Lyra saw his skeletal arms, and wondered why he was so soft. Was it from wearing layers? With his white tee and jacket on her floor, Lyra saw Sans’ upper body nude for the first time.

    He was definitely a skeleton. 

    Lyra didn’t know what they were about to do, but she aimed to put her hands on his somewhat exposed hipbones. Oddly enough, it seemed her hands stopped short and landed on what could pass for soft flesh. Invisible flesh. Confused, she ran her hands up and down his sides. He laughed lightly.

    “hey, that tickles,” he stopped her hands with his own. He pulled her right hand over his chest. “i know you’ve been thinking about my soul.” Lyra blushed at this and felt a weird sense of shame. “i want you to know you can have it. touch my soul… its right here.” Sans pressed her hand against his chest hard.

    Lyra knew what she had to do, but wasn’t sure how she knew. Basic instinct, she supposed. Lyra pressed the tips of her fingers against the invisible flesh of his body. Eventually, her fingertips pierced through. Sans let out a gasp of pain, but Lyra continued. She pushed her hand through and could feel his heart right under the surface of his rib cage. She grabbed and pulled it out. This wasn’t a heart, but a soul. A Monster soul. It was smaller than she expected, and it looked like a gray heart. As it floated in her hand, she saw the tip pointed upward. It reminded her of something. A few somethings, but the information felt jumbled in her head.

    “you…” Sans struggled for breath. “you can have it. its your’s.”

    Lyra ate his soul without thinking. She swallowed it whole. As she did, his body started to lose its physicality and blew away.

 

    Lyra’s eyes burst open and she saw a strange face. She screamed. The strange face suddenly woke up and also screamed. Sans kept sleeping between them.

    At breakfast, Papyrus apologized over and over for sneaking into Lyra’s bed. He had gotten so scared when he woke up and Sans wasn’t there that he snuck into her bed. This made him seem even more like a small child in Lyra’s eyes. Sans shrugged the whole thing off. At least Papyrus hadn’t walked in on them in a compromising position, though Lyra still looked a little shaken up. She seemed to be giving Sans the sad puppy eyes all morning.

    Alphys hid in Lyra’s toilet for a while that morning, beginning her post to her secret #teampapyrus group with, ‘omg the most anime thing jus happened lol!’

 

    Lesser Dog howled and howled at Grillby’s. Greater Dog tried to comfort his friend, but was distracted by their meals and would occasionally beg Lesser Dog for his portion. Lesser Dog got a human girlfriend and lost her in the span of a few days, but he still loved her. She managed to pet him in ways he didn’t know about. In ways that didn’t make his head shoot through the sky. Lesser Dog had to get her back, but wasn’t sure how. She wouldn’t take any of his messages on Facebook or UnderNet, which he had invited her to. The human girl only wanted to post pictures of Undyne rescuing people in their secret group chats with other humans and Monsters.

    Undyne. She was the reason the human girl wouldn’t date him. Maybe if he could prove Undyne was already taken, the human girl would back off and come back to him. With lots of cuddles, hugs, and pets. Lesser Dog decided to invite Undyne and her girlfriend to the next Anime Club. 

 

    After the hangout with Lyra, she dropped all the Monsters off at the bus stop rather early. She frowned and explained that she had to work. Lyra gave them all a hug, which caught Undyne and Alphys off guard, but they found it oddly comforting. Of course, she lingered on Sans the longest. They made a funny pair in Undyne’s eye. She was taller than him, but shorter than Undyne. Sans reached up to her midsection, and she wondered why Lyra had seemingly chosen to be with Sans rather than any taller human or Monster. Human females, she had read once, preferred dark, tall providers. Here stood a short goofball who used to wear pink, fuzzy house slippers outside. In public.

    Undyne would need to take matters into her own hands. 

    Once they all got home to the Underground safely, Undyne held Sans up by the hood and ushered Papyrus and Alphys onward. Alphys gave her girlfriend a suspicious look, but complied. Undyne was sure that Alphys would kill her later over this, but it didn’t matter. Undyne couldn’t deal with seeing a problem and not attempting to fix it. Besides, Sans was a good brother. Undyne knew that Sans had worked several jobs just to keep their Snowdin home, after all he worked as a sentry for her in Waterfall and Hotland. One shift after another. He may seem lazy, but Undyne knew better. That was just a facade. She didn’t know him then, but Alphys told her about Sans the Scientist. Alphys declined to explain why he woke up one morning and seemed to give up on life, but Undyne saw an opportunity to restore Sans’ former self.

    “what’s up, buddy?” Sans crossed his arms. “fishing for a new friend?”

    “Sans,” Undyne walked holding Sans up by the hood. “We are already friends. By proxy.”

    “proxy,” Sans nodded. “right… well, what do you want?”

    “I am going to help you with your,” Undyne muffled a laugh, “‘little’ problem! HAHAHA, get it? Little? As in, you are a tiny squirt???”

    “friends by proxy probably don’t go around pointing out other people’s flaws,” Sans put his hands into his hoodie. Being held up by the hood wasn’t comfortable, but it sure beat walking.

    “Real friends are willing to divulge all sorts of information. Sans, you are a pipsqueak and a wuss.”

    “you are really baiting the hook there…” Sans started to feel even more grumpy that he usually would being forced awake so early. “so i’m short, no big deal. i don’t know what you mean by wuss… don’t tell me alph’s been putting thoughts into your head.”

    “No, but you should worry that Alphys is going to put thoughts into Lyra’s head.” Undyne started running, and found the River Person. They boarded. “To Waterfall, please.”

    The boat began to move at high speeds, which always made Sans feel a bit sick. “thoughts into lyra’s head? like what?” Sans already knew.

    “Papyrus is basically a less wussy version of you,” Undyne oversimplified.

    “paps is a cool dude, but we aren’t really that similar,” Sans muttered. “he’s always going out of his way for people. he easily makes friends everywhere he goes.”

    “Exactly, Papyrus is a way cooler guy than you’ll ever be. He’s tall, he’s handsome, and its really hard not to like him. ITS REALLY,” Undyne yelled at Sans’ face, “HARD NOT TO LIKE HIM. Lyra already likes him.”

    “like, in a mom-way maybe,” Sans shook his head at Undyne. “which is cool with me.”

    “Sans,” Undyne put her fingertips together and closed her eye. “What do you even know about women?”

    “uhhh,” Sans wasn’t sure how to reply. “they are their own people?”

    “WRONG,” Undyne lept from the boat as it docked in Waterfall. “They have types! No matter how much you are your own person, everyone has a type. No one falls in love without that person being a type. I have a type. She has a type. Clearly you have a type.”

    “what is that supposed to mean,” Sans crossed his arms and Undyne finally put him down.

    “It means Alphys is a blabbermouth and anything you tell her I find out about sooner or later,” Undyne pulled her lips into a tight line as if holding in a loud laugh, “I know you once asked out Tor-”

    “shhhh!” Sans threw his palms up to Undyne’s face. “even so, that doesn’t mean i have a type.”

    “You just said Lyra looked at Papyrus in a mom way,” Undyne tapped her foot. “You are so into mom-like people, dude. And if Lyra is like a typical human, she wants a tall human male who is kind and makes her laugh. Papyrus is way closer to that description than you’ll ever be.”

    “whatever you say,” Sans closed his eyes and shrugged. “so what, you are going to help me officially get with lyra? i am not really that into her.”

    “Sans, you know you aren’t the only person who can read a room, right?” Undyne frowned. She didn’t like being underestimated. Especially by a pipsqueak like Sans. “You are totally lying to yourself. What is the real reason you won’t ask out this human girl who is clearly testing the waters with you.”

    Sans thought for a moment. Undyne was an aggressive punk, but she was also a friend to Papyrus. A good friend. Someone who understood that Papyrus could get hurt. “if lyra and i date, it puts a lot of us in danger, you know. i’m a monster and lyra is human. a lot of humans don’t like that. heck, there are monsters who don’t like it either, though i am not as worried about them. what if lyra and i date and the wrong humans find out. next time papyrus and i hit the surface we could be biting the dust.”

    “I see,” Undyne closed her eye and shook her head. “You poor idiot.”

    “ok, bye,” Sans started to walk away, but Undyne lifted him up by the hood again.

    “Sans, do you know why I took you to Waterfall?”

    “not really.”

    “You and Lyra aren’t the first to be teetering on the edge. It’s like you other Monsters forget about water magic. You guys really piss me off. There have a been a few other people get interested in humans, you see…” Undyne shifted her eye around as she walked to a neighborhood by her old house. “Water magic is serious business, dude. We’ve helped people out before. You don’t hear about them, because unlike you they didn’t parade around with their romantic interests.”

    “what?”

    “We can make potions that temporarily make you look human, you idiot,” Undyne sighed. “A few Monsters who can afford them can buy potions from certain water magic wielding Monsters. Not including me, I was never into that Monstercraft stuff.”

    “oh…” Sans knew about Monstercraft and how only magic wielding Monsters could do it, but he had no idea they could do transmogrification or anything. “uh... so you are saying that i could… that lyra and i could be…”

    “Out in the open? Yes,” Undyne stopped in front of a beautiful, shell-like home. “You drink some of this stuff, and you will be a human male in appearance. Then you and Lyra could date openly. No one notices. No harm comes to Papyrus. I mean, it would suck to have to be a closeted couple, but oh my god, I cannot deal with Alphys anymore.” Undyne shook Sans as she admitted her second reason for helping him. “She will not STOP talking about how cute Papyrus’ and Lyra’s children will be. I love my nerd, but she is so hardcore. Please, do this for me!”

    “um,” Sans slowly nodded. “i’ll give it a whirl, i guess…” Sans secretly felt excited. 

    Undyne knocked on the door, and a small, shy mermaid peaked her head out. “Yes? Oh! Undyne, how lovely to see you…” 

    “Hey Shyren,” Undyne barged into Shyren’s home. “Sorry I haven’t been available to continue our piano lessons.”

    “No worries,” Shyren waved her flipper at Undyne. “I heard you are busting people up on the surface. Good for you!”

    “Heh, yeah,” Undyne gave a big toothy grin. “Anyway, my friend here… he would like a human potion.”

    “Ohhh, you mean like… transmogrification?”

    “Yes…” They were all suddenly whispering.

    “Usually, I charge a cool 90 grand for this… but for a friend of a friend, first bottle is free. After that, I’ll let you have the family discount.”

    “How long does one bottle last, usually?” Undyne asked for Sans’ sake. 

    “Well, for someone of his size…” Shyren disappeared into her kitchen before returning with 50 oz bottle. “He should drink maybe a teaspoon. Since you are a skeleton, I had to add a special ingredient to the mixture since your bodies are even more magical than most. It might leave you with a bitter taste. The effect will last probably a couple of hours. Every teaspoon you drink will increase the effect… I shouldn’t tell this to you,” Shyren looked around, and started giggling. “There was this one guy who was so desperate to be a human anyway, he bought quite a lot from me. I think he has been living as a human for like two years now.”

    “Holy moly! That doesn’t sound legal,” Undyne shrugged. “WHO CARES? THOSE HUMANS WILL ONLY LET HUMANS LIVE UP THERE. SERVES THEM RIGHT.”

    “so,” Sans coughed. “so there is like 300 doses in that bottle?”

    “Something like that, yeah,” Shyren nodded as she handed the bottle to Sans.

    Sans felt uneasy. He wasn’t sure if this would be the right thing to do. Either way… he really wanted to be more official with Lyra. She seemed into him, and given how last night went before Papyrus joined, it was possible she did want more from him. Thinking of her seeing his skeletal body was not a thought he had until Undyne started to talk about, but now he wondered if that would freak her out. Maybe this was the only way they could really be together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am curious if the formatting of this story is easy to read. I notice it looks like there is so much space. Really, I just want to make sure its easy to read. Let me know if it is difficult, and I'll look at better formatting options. Thanks!


	12. Role Swap

 

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen!" Called out a husky voice from the Youtube video. On screen, there was a robot who seemed to be a male, if robots could have genders. This robot had beautiful, black hair with their bangs feather back, yet hiding an eye. He puckered his lips for the camera, showing off the newest lipstick he had purchased from above ground. Make-up tutorials were a dime a dozen on Youtube, yet in the last year this robot managed to break 5 million subscriptions. When he requested his Golden Play Button reward at a million subscribers, Youtube was unsure where to mail his prize. "This is Mettaton here, and today, I'm going to show you how to really utilize those metallic eye shadows! You will simply look GORGEOUS."

Mettaton always wrapped up his videos with a short vlog-style, one-sided conversation. Usually commenting on celebrity gossip, complaining about the state of Youtube, or asking his viewers what they would like to see from him. Mettaton always avoided politics, and usually avoided his own comment section. He let his cousin, Blooky, handle that. Blooky was a ghost who specialized in creating music and sounds. He was more than happy to help Mettaton out with the music on his Youtube channel, although Mettaton usually complained it was too mellow.

"Ohh..." Blooky sighed. "I just thought... that we shouldn't overpower your natural personality..."

"Oh, I see," Mettaton thought on it for a half-second. "That is great! You are so talented, Blooky. One of the best in the biz!" Mettaton always spoke with authority, even if he didn't know for sure. Blooky understood that, but he appreciated the compliment anyway.

The humans may not let Monsters live on the surface, but Mettaton wouldn't let a small thing like that keep him from Stardom. The cousins managed a fairly large empire. Mettaton recorded footage for the Youtube channel, and Blooky edited and posted them. While Blooky managed the Youtube channel, Mettaton managed the MTT Resort in Hotland. Humans were allowed to stay in MTT Resort as long as they wore his special MTT Bands, which worked as a way for them to pay for things, but more secretly a way to track their movements. Many visitors stayed in his resort and a few even specifically wanted to meet with Mettaton. He truly was a bright star, and it was only a matter of time before the humans were forced to give him his big break.

"Hey... cuz..." Blooky interrupted Mettaton's thoughts. "I heard we have a problem... a human is freaking out over the janitor..."

"Oh dear," Mettaton marched out of his office. "Thanks, Blooky. I will handle it."

Mettaton didn't need to know where the issue was occurring. He turned on the live feeds from his security cameras and spotted a human shouting down his slime janitor.  _Shit,_  he thought,  _I need to move that worker to some other position..._  Mettaton arrived on the scene with a big, friendly smile plastered onto his face. "Gentlemen, gentlemen, what is the issue?"

"This fucking turd got his shit all over my brand new suit!" The human male shouted. He looked like a middle aged company man. Indeed, the employee had gotten some slime onto the pant leg of the man, but it wasn't 'all over.' Mettaton also noted that it was definitely not a new suit. It was probably new 10 years ago. Mettaton maintained his professional demeanor.

"I am so sorry to hear about this, sir," Mettaton moved and stood between his employee and the human. "I will pay for that to be dry cleaned!"

"I don't think I can trust you Monsters to clean this shit up," the man grumbled. "You might ruin it even more."

"What could I do to make this situation better for you, sir?" Mettaton gestured at the man's pant leg. "This is dreadful. Perhaps I can comp your stay? Give you some free tickets to our restaurant?"

The human grunted deeply. "Well... How about that AND a free souvenir? I am here on business, and my wife wants me to bring something home."

Mettaton noted the human's stinginess. "Of course, sir." Mettaton mentally took a photo of the man and made arrangements. He added a note, 'Don't mess with this human, just do what he asks.' Mettaton send this information to all his subordinates. In that moment, he saw the human's information. His name was John Ashford, a politician. No doubt the King had brought him to MTT Resort for free anyway. Humans with power seemed incredibly stingy with their money, whereas the lower classes seemed more able to enjoy themselves.

John Ashford looked down at Mettaton with his nose high, then walked off. Mettaton wiped his customer service smile off and momentarily remembered that he technically was equipped with anti-human capabilities. Mettaton chuckled to himself and walked back to his office.

 

Sans paced around Lyra's bathroom. He excused himself a few minutes ago, and with how long he's been in there, Lyra had to be worried. Or think he was pooping. He looked into the bathroom mirror. He could see his shoulders and skull. Sans thought about what Undyne had told him as he pulled out a tiny bottle. He didn't think lugging around his entire supply of potion would be safe, and so he opted to put some of the potion into an empty, and cleaned out, bottle of hand sanitizer. He took in a deep breath and squirted some of the potion into his mouth with his eyes shut tightly. After a few moments, he opened his eyes. Still a skeleton.

"must be defective..." Sans sighed. He pocketed the potion and walked back out to the second living room where he left Lyra. As he walked, he called out to her, "hey, are you playing the next episode without me?" As he approached the sofa, it seemed like the furniture sunk into the floor. Lyra turned her head to reply to him, but instead her eyes went wide and her lips became a thin line. The closer he got, the dizzier he felt. "what's up? something on my face?" He reached out to put his hand on the top of the sofa to steady himself. Suddenly, he felt a lack of equilibrium. Had the potion made him sick? He looked down and saw a fleshy hand on the sofa, which was connected to his arm. Where was his hand?

"Sans... is that you?" Lyra stood up slowly and backed away. "It sounds like you... what the fuck dude?"

"oh man, this is really..." Sans felt queasy as he realized his body had changed. He was slowly growing taller, and he was about to throw up. "this is me... i, oh god, help me sit down..."

Lyra watched as Sans toppled over and fell. She peeked over the sofa and saw he hadn't quite passed out. "Are you okay?" He looked at her, but didn't seem able to reply. Frowning, she tried to pick Sans up. Despite his appearance, he was still easy to lift. She placed him on the sofa and sat at his feet. Sans was human looking now. He grew a bit taller, and was possibly her height now. His skin looked fairly pale, like a human who didn't go out much. He had hair now on his face and head. His hair was incredibly white, the kind of white humans' had to use dye to get. Sans had light stubble on his chin, which upon closer inspection was also white. "Well, this is a thing now, I guess... Do you skeletons just randomly look human sometimes?"

"i..." Sans started. "shit, sorry... i wasn't sure how to talk for a moment. uh..." Sans slowly sat up. As he did, it seemed that he grew even taller. He definitely would tower over Lyra. Suddenly, she was the short one. "i, um, i figured it'd be easier for us to hang out if i look like a human... what do you think? do i look good?"

Lyra's face turned red. Sans was a very cute skeleton, but as a human he looked quite handsome. She felt uncomfortable with these feelings, and instead said, "Well, you look like a human guy, so it worked. Why did you feel the need to do this, though? I like you how you are. Er, usually are."

"well," Sans looked down at his feet. He was glad he wore his shorts today. Usually his shorts reached his ankle bone, but now they stopped at his knees. "okay, i'm going to be honest with you."

"Okay, I'm listening," Lyra scooted closer to Sans.

"okay, so, i," Sans looked over at Lyra's knees. He didn't want to see her face react. "i really like you. i'm into you. and if you let me, i'd love to take you out for dates other than snuggle fests, which i love. but if we go out with me as a... as a monster, you might get hurt. papyrus might get hurt. i don't want to put anyone in danger... aw shit, this is only if you are interested. if you aren't, i understand. we could go back to snuggling... or not. fuck."

Lyra noticed she could more easily tell what Sans was emoting on his face. He had been thinking about this for a while now, maybe since they first started to hang out. Lyra put her hand on Sans' human hand. The hand didn't feel quite right. It was not Sans' real hand. Lyra wrapped her thumb around and started to rub his palm. This coaxed Sans to look up at her. She smiled. "I didn't think you were actually into me or anything..."

"are you kidding me?" Sans tilted his head. His white bangs shifted on his head with the motion. "i've been making the effort to come up and see you even on days i don't have class. i crawled into your bed after the movie." Sans saw Lyra blushing. In that moment, she looked more vulnerable than she ever seemed before. Lyra always seemed in control, Lyra was the one who dictated how they did their lab work, and Lyra even initiated most of their snuggle fests. He felt something take over him as he leaned over and used his full height to tower over her. "lyra, i know you are a librarian," Sans leaned in to whisper into her ear. "but if you'd let me, i'd show you a thing or two between the covers."

Lyra froze. Any apprehension she had about Sans looking human vanished as he showed the confidence he usually showed when they weren't snuggling. She felt his breathing in her ear and started to lean back. 

"well? what do you think, cutie?"

"Um...I... I..."

"you? you?" Sans pressed his chest into her a bit. They laid down with Sans atop of her. He pushed himself up by his arms and looked down at her the way she usually did to him. The tables had turned.

"I think you are silly."

"oh, am i?" Sans chuckled. She still defaulted to that phrase. He laid on his side and pulled Lyra toward him. He ran his human hands through her hair. Lyra turned to melted butter in his hands. She made noises of contentment. "so what do you say? can we be a little more... official?"

Lyra didn't reply immediately. Her mind kept repeating, 'oh god, yes,' over and over, but she couldn't will herself to speak. Instead, she nodded into his chest. At this, Sans moved his hand from her head to her chin. He tilted her face up to his and slowly brought his lips to hers. Sans placed a gentle kiss on her, which was so much easier to do as a human man. It didn't require as much conscious thought as when he only had bones to work with. As they kissed, Sans felt adventurous and pushed her mouth open with his tongue. This surprised Lyra for a moment, before she responded in kind. After a moment, he pulled away.

"i think we have some chemistry here," Sans laughed. "cause we just got a reaction."

He did it. He set up a pun by kissing. Lyra felt a sensory overload and practically shouted, "Oh my god, you are a huge dweeb."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying an html editor, but I think it is coming out looking like normal. Resisting the urge to indent. I guess since the page isn't small like book pages are, indents actually make things harder to read. idk. Hope I nail the formatting soon.


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